Countdown to Destruction the Novel
by shaunstegall
Summary: A complete novelization of the classic "Countdown to Destruction" from Power Rangers in Space, with new twists added.
1. Chapter 1

She stood silently at the edge of the rocky cliff. The sky around and above her was blue with thick clouds hovering around. The woman that stood here wore nothing but black. Dark gray armor adorned her upper body, with micro-chip circuits glued to her like bees on honey. The circuits connected to wires that run into her skin beneath the suit she wore.

Short red hair covered her head and outlined a pale face with then, red lips that etched upwards in a sly smile as the thoughts went through her mind. She held a long steel lance with her personal banner insignia at the top of it. Standing on this rocky cliff, she let herself think about what brought her to this place, this one moment where destiny awaited her.

For the past few months, she had found herself in a back and forth battle with the Power Rangers on Earth. Each new plan she formulated was executed to perfection by her forces, yet the Rangers persevered. And what's more, they defeated her forces at each turn. And while defeating her, their leader, the Red Ranger, repeatedly tried his best to convince her of her true self, the one flaw she saw inside of herself.

A flaw because part of her knew what he told her was true. Another part of her didn't care.

She knew who he was and what he was to her, but the currents of energy sent forth by the circuits that were inside her prevented her from giving into that feeling she sometimes got late at night. That feeling that perhaps she could be nothing more than a sister and a friend. But the programming of the circuits, each and every time, reminded her in painful waves who she was now.

She was Astronema. She had a destiny to fulfill. And that was truly why she stood here. The time for her plans to get rid of both the Rangers and Dark Spectre were passed. The time had come for the end of peace throughout the universe and Astronema couldn't wait.

The skies and the very air around her crackled as an ominous presence made itself known. Astronema stood stock still as her only master, Dark Spectre, appeared before her very eyes. He dwarfed her own height with his own bulky size. Taking on the appearance of a once all powerful being known as Maligore, Dark Spectre stood looking down at the red haired woman he personally trained to follow in his footsteps when the time came for him to step down. He had another purpose for summoning her, however.

"Astronema." Dark Spectre's deep tones boomed over the area with it's intensity.

Astronema merely tilted her head in question.

"The time has come to complete my Master Plan! Summon all of my evil forces. They must all unite to finally take over the Universe!" he ordered her.

A smile lit Astronema's features as she gazed at Dark Spectre's face. She raised her staff high into the air. "Let the battle begin!" she roared.

Dark Spectre vanished after a few more seconds of silence. The smile stayed on Astronema's face as her second in command, Ecliptor, walked up to her. He stayed silent for a moment before he spoke. "He still does not know about your connection to the Psycho Rangers?" he inquired.

Astronema turned and faced him. "No, and he won't know either."

"No, he won't." he agreed obediently.

"You heard him, gather the forces. We have an invasion to prepare!" she declared, turning and stalking off. Ecliptor followed her silently.

About thirty minutes later, Ecliptor stood in a control room aboard the Dark Fortress. His hands were typing on a nearby console. The screen above it was blank slightly, but after a moment, a visual was seen coming in. The image that can back was the interior of the cockpit of Serpent Terra, the most destructive and massive zord ever constructed. On the screen, however, were four figures.

One was a monkey with big wings and gold armor. Another looked just like a walking and talking skeleton. They stood in the back. In front of them were two thrones. On one of the thrones, a woman sat. Ecliptor recognized her instantly, as he did the individual that sat next to her. Red in skin all over with steel parts on his arms, chest, legs, and feet, not to mention his hands and face with the top of his brain showing, there was no doubt who Ecliptor was looking at.

Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa, along with Rito Revolto and Goldar. At one point in time, they were THE force of evil to be reckoned with, the force to which no one would ever challenge because their very name inspired fear in their enemies. But of the four of them, there was only one that Ecliptor looked at with an unlimited amount of respect.

And that was Goldar. The legendary tales of the battles that Goldar were involved in was what Ecliptor was taught up learning about. The intensity and the sheer brutality that Goldar once possessed was known the whole universe over and it was those stories that Ecliptor was raised upon, trained upon. He would never forget the first moment he met the gold armored warrior.

He was a young Ecliptor then. He hadn't even come into service for Dark Spectre then. It was during a time when the planet Onyx was still recognized as the gathering place for the worst villains and scum of the universe. And Dark Spectre was a frequent visitor there. He, along with his friend Villamax and Villamax's little buddy Keglar, always liked to get together at least three times a month and do their game of cards in the regular old saloon.

And that's what he was doing on that one fateful day. He, Villamax, and Keglar were part of a five member game of Interstellar Poker. Of course, Villamax was the better player of them all and he was beating all of them. Ecliptor still had a good amount of money, though, so he had decided to keep playing after Villamax won that last hand.

Ecliptor had raised his cup and took a drink of his drink, then looked at his friend. "So, Villamax, what have you and Keglar been up to lately?"

Villamax dealt the cards out before he answered. "Oh, this and that. Staying out of trouble, or at least trying." that had come with a look at Keglar.

Keglar had raised his hands in a gesture. "Hey, that's not my fault!"

Villamax had chuckled. "Sure, my friend. You walked right into a trap set for some Power Rangers and I had to rescue you. You call that not being your fault."

Ecliptor had laughed, always enjoying the banter between the two beings before him. It didn't last, though, because a moment later, the saloon doors swung inward and a figure had entered. And Ecliptor's attention had been snagged right away.

From the top of his head to the bottom of his feet, he was covered in gold armor. But it wasn't the gold armor that demanded attention. It was the way he'd carried himself. Secure with himself and full of bad attitude, Goldar was someone who demanded respect from anyone and everyone he came into contact with and Ecliptor was fascinated by the warrior in gold.

But back then, Ecliptor had never known what he looked like, so, he didn't know who it was. He'd turned to Villamax, having just noticed the utter quietness that exploded throughout the bar at Goldar's entrance.

"Who is that?!" Ecliptor had asked, hurriedly.

Villamax had looked at him as if he'd lost his mind. "Oh, don't you dare tell me you've never heard of the great Goldar!"

"Of course I have. THAT'S Goldar!?" Ecliptor had replied.

"Yes, and I'd be quiet if I were you. He doesn't look to be in a good mood." Villamax's voice had lowered.

But Goldar had heard his name mentioned in their conversations and he had stalked over, looking down at Ecliptor. "Who are you?" he asked slowly, carefully.

Ecliptor had stood, extending a hand. "The name is Ecliptor."

Instead of grasping the offered hand, Goldar, not being one for formalities back in those days, had backhanded Ecliptor across the face. "Nice to meet you Ecliptor."

Then, Goldar had turned and went over to the bar, getting himself a drink. And as Ecliptor picked himself up, Villamax came over. "I don't think he likes me." Ecliptor had said.

Villamax had laughed, patting him on the shoulder. "No, if he didn't like you, he'd of used that sword and killed you right away."

Looking back at that first moment, Ecliptor shook his head at the immature person he had been back then. But now was not the time to be dwelling on those times, he had a job to do. He looked at Zedd and Rita. "I am contacting you because I have an order that comes all the way from Dark Spectre himself."

Zedd and Rita exchanged a startled look. "What is it?" Zedd asked.

Ecliptor bored his eyes into Zedd's, with the intent purpose of trying to show Zedd how serious the order was. "It's time to conquer the universe." he said simply.

And right away, Ecliptor noticed two things. One, Rita's eyes lit up at the prospect of causing destruction and two, Zedd's entire demeanor changed into that of speculative wonder. Ecliptor thought about that as he ended the transmission and headed out towards the balcony, where his princess was standing, regarding the hundreds and hundreds of Quantrons that were looking at her from the bottom level where they were gathered.

"When we're finished, there will be no good left in the Universe, no love and definitely no happiness. Only chaos, anger, and greed!" Astronema's voice rang over them.

Below, the hundreds of Quantrons cheered at her words.

Astronema let her hands rest on the railing as she studied her warriors. "Fight strong and destroy all the forces of goodness...especially those Power Rangers!"

Her voice had risen as she spoke and with each word, the Quantrons cheered louder and louder. And as the Velocifighter ships began departing from the Dark Fortress, Astronema's smile widened as she watched them head towards the Earth. From her lips, three words sounded to Ecliptor and Elgar's ears. These three words told the entire story of the next few days in the lives of everyone on Earth.

"It has begun." she said, chuckling.


	2. Chapter 2

He was furious. Of course, he knew better than to let it show, not when he was receiving orders, along with his wife Rita, from Astronema, the chosen general of all of Dark Spectre's forces. He kept quiet as she spoke to him. But, he listened to Rita as she stepped up, ready to face the redheaded warrior. And one side of Zedd's mind laughed at the thought of Rita being destroyed for backtalking to Astronema.

"There she is! You tell her, Zeddy." Rita's voice bore at him.

Zedd heard Elgar talking to Astronema just before she appeared in their viewing communication screen. Zedd stepped up, visibly trying to show Astronema that he was nervous. It was expected of him, because if he let his true emotions even begin to show, he knew he'd get a visit from the assassins that Dark Spectre used to wipe out resistance forces that were small in number. "We don't need your plan. We...we have our own!" he told her.

Astronema stared at him, her face blank and emotionless. "Quiet." she said after a moment.

After a slight hesitation, both lower level monarchs quieted.

"You will listen and listen good." Astronema said. "I make the strategy and you will follow the orders that I give. Understand?"

"Oh yeah," Rita challenged suddenly, "Well, who, may I ask, put you in charge missy?"

A smile crossed Astronema's face as she answered Rita's inquiry. "Dark Spectre himself assigned me in charge of this invasion."

Zedd could see the fear leak into his wife's face and he knew she wouldn't be able to answer. He stepped up and spoke for her, making sure to convey fear when he spoke. Once again, it was expected of someone who no longer was looked at as someone with authority. "Dark Spectre? Oh, well then, we just love your plan!"

Zedd and Rita heard Elgar's voice from behind Astronema. "Thought you might." they heard in a mocking tone of voice. And with that, the link was cut and the communication was over. Zedd's anger at the entire situation increased.

For hundreds of years, the name Lord Zedd always inspired fear in everyone who heard it. Zedd was the ruler of countless planets, and yet now, he was forced to endure the orders of someone he clearly should be ruling over. A human no less. It was that thought that kept sneaking into his head and driving him crazy with it's mocking. Zedd was getting sick of it all.

In recent years, however, all of Zedd's failures on Earth have began to make him the laughing stock of the universe. Even on Onyx, where his diabolical madness was most known, he wasn't recognized hardly anymore. He knew what happened to him. Where his life, his very existence, had gone wrong. And if he told any others this, they would, of course, believe it was Rita that turned his life upside down for the worse.

But Zedd didn't believe it was Rita that caused his reputation to go downhill. No, he blamed a human. One human. At one time, they had been the most bitter of enemies. One, an evil space monarch and the other, a Power Ranger. Now, Zedd was nothing more than a lackey and the other is now a retired Power Ranger, living a regular life.

If nothing else, Zedd was still as determined as he ever was. While it is possible that he's lost his ruthlessness, Zedd's determination has held intact. And before he was gone, he was going to make for damn sure that one Ranger he blamed his downfall on paid for it all.

With that one thought in mind, Zedd turned and stalked off, heading over to a large rocky wall where the others were gathered. Halfway over, Rita grasped his arm. "Zeddie, where are you going?" Rita asked him.

Zedd looked back at Rita, his head tilting as he gazed at the witch that was his wife for the past few years. Even though he had considerable trouble in showing it, he did indeed care very much for Rita. He personally believed that he didn't possess the capability to love someone, so he would never allow himself to say that he loved her. Not when he didn't believe he could love anything. His heart was shrouded in darkness, always was. Zedd couldn't remember a time in his existence where he cared about anything or anyone other than himself.

And gazing at Rita now, Zedd knew he didn't love her, but he did care about what happened to her. But now wasn't the time for that kind of talk. He lifted one of his hands and placed it on Rita's cheek. "I have something I must take care of." he told her seriously. "I doubt you'll see me or Goldar again."

"What?!" Rita's voice rose in alarm. With everything, she was having trouble acknowledging this.

Zedd's hand dropped. "You heard me. Goldar!" he raised his voice.

Goldar came walking over silently, having heard Zedd's voice, even as far away as he had been. "Yes, Lord Zedd?"

"Get whatever things you have on Serpent Terra and get back here. We're leaving." Zedd told him.

Goldar nodded and turned to leave. Zedd turned back to Rita, seeing a stunned look on her face. "What?" he said in response.

"What are you doing, Zeddie? Have you lost your mind? When Dark Spectre finds out about this, he'll crucify you!" Rita screeched.

Zedd materialized his staff in his hands and looked it over. "When I said it was good to be back in the game, I meant it Rita. If I die, then I die, but I'm gonna die on my terms, not Dark Spectre's, and certainly not on Astronema's."

"Where are you going, then?" she asked after a few moments of silence. Although, she had an inkling of a suspicion of the answer he was going to give.

He looked at her. "Earth." he said simply.

"I thought so." Rita replied. She stayed silent as Goldar returned several moments later.

"I'm ready, my lord." Goldar said.

Lord Zedd nodded. Goldar wordlessly stepped behind Zedd as the evil monarch raised his Z scepter up slightly. A flash of light erupted through the area they were gathered at and then, Zedd and Goldar were gone.

Left with no recourse but to lead the rest of her forces in finishing off the Gold Ranger, Rita turned and headed back to the where the main battle was taking place. She would go on as she always have, but she would keep Zedd in her mind. As she walked, she spoke quietly into the air. "Watch out Tommy, Zedd's coming."

Sometimes, he really enjoyed the peace and quiet that came with a regular life. Never having that nervous anxiety that always came when you were a Power Ranger. Always been on pins and needles, worrying that there was going to be an attack and to have to hear that beep from the communicator. No, living the life he now was living was very enjoyable to Tommy Oliver, former Power Ranger on Earth.

At the moment, Tommy was on his way home. He was in his dark red jeep. A jeep that he'd had for many years now. It had been a gift given to him by his adopted parents just after he'd the change from being the White Power Ranger and becoming the Red Zeo Power Ranger. He shook his head. Thinking about those days always seemed bring up other, more sensitive subjects.

Like Billy, for one. And Kimberly for another. Tommy navigated his jeep through the mid-day traffic, changing the lanes and heading down the highway that led to the deluxe apartment he lived at.

For the past couple years, Tommy had thought of those two friends of his quite a lot. He found himself hoping that both Billy and Kimberly had found the happiness that they both were wanting. For Billy, he claimed to them that he found it in an alien Aquitian named Cestra. And Kimberly claimed it as the chance to go to the Pan Global Games, the Games that Tommy and some of the other now former Rangers had watched recently, seeing their old ex-comrade earn multiple medals.

And although they were not there in person, they were there in spirit as Kimberly won those awards through her dedication and determination. One thing Tommy wanted to do soon was have a chance and talk to Kimberly. To finally clear the air about the letter she sent him two years prior that officially ended the relationship they had going. A relationship Tommy had been convinced, back then, that would last forever.

But it hadn't lasted forever. It had ended and soon after that, a new relationship had begun. Him and Katherine. A smile crossed Tommy's features as he thought about the woman that he'd been dating for the past two years. Their relationship was a lot different than his with Kimberly had been. He and Kimberly, when they had been very strong, was at the base of it, mostly innocent. Sly touches here, holding hands there. It had been Kim's very first crush and Tommy's very first relationship.

It had been good while it lasted. But distance and time away from each other had been the catalyst for their relationship ending. Long distance relationships, as the old saying goes, are very hard and simply put, Kimberly's attention had been drawn to someone else. Someone who could be around her twenty four hours a day and seven days a week. And Tommy, he had been leading the Rangers then, keeping the world safe from Zedd and Rita and the Machine Empire.

But through his grief and emotional devastation, someone had been with him to see it through. A person who had at first been manipulated into luring Tommy from Kimberly in the first place. And though she wasn't under Rita's spell at the time, Tommy knew Kat had wanted to step right in take Kim's place after the letter had arrived. But that's not how it happened. She was loyal and a true friend. She didn't pressure Tommy and the both of them were stronger for it.

And now, she and Tommy were a few months away from getting married. It was something that neither of them had really been looking at doing, but something that came right up and introduced itself to them. They were getting married and as the wedding date edged closer, Tommy and Katherine were both eagerly anticipating it.

But that wasn't the only major event they had on the way. Tommy's grin widened as he pulled into the parking lot of the Ridgeway Hills Apartments. This was where he'd moved into after he started college at Angel Grove University. Tommy turned the ignition off and grabbed his textbook. The textbook was for Tommy's class 'Advanced Paleontology' . It was required for the major that Tommy had decided to go into.

Becoming a Paleontologist. Tommy mused as he walked inside the Apartment building. As he walked up the steps that led to the hallway his apartment was located on, he thought about that. When he left being a Power Ranger behind, he'd been convinced, as had his friends, that he was going to become a Pro Racer. He had the skill and the drive to do exactly that. But then, slowly, his interest had begun leaving the racing genre and he found himself getting more and more interested in teaching.

And when that had happened, he had to stop and sit down and think. What subject would he be interested in teaching if that's what he did. The answer had come not from him, but from Katherine when he talked to her about it. It was Paleontology. The whole science had intrigued him for years for some reason. And after thinking about it, Tommy had agreed that it would be a good decision for him to make.

Tommy reached the top floor, where his apartment was, and entered the hallway. He started walking down the hall, towards his apartment when he saw one of his neighbors, an elder man in his early sixties, locking his door, two suitcases settled on the floor on either side of him. Tommy walked over to his neighbor.

"Hey, Mr. Johnson, what's going on? Taking a trip?" Tommy said, eyeing the older man.

Ray Johnson was in his early sixties with graying hair and he had a slightly overweight figure. The older man wore a pair of slacks and a white button up shirt tucked into the pants. He locked his door and started to pick up his bags. He looked very nervous and a little scared. "What? Oh no! No, no...haven't you been watching the news, boy?!" he spluttered.

Alarm crossed Tommy's face as he took in the older man's voice and the nervous tinge that surrounded him. "No, I've been in school most of the day. What is it?" he asked instead.

Mr. Johnson was already heading towards the stairs. As he registered Tommy's words, he stopped and looked back. "Looks like those evil space aliens the Power Rangers have been fighting are finished wasting time. They're attacking us...full force!" the man said before he turned and continued to the stairs, not looking back.

Tommy was frozen with shock for several seconds after his neighbor departed. Then, shaking his head out of his partial shock, he turned to his door and unlocked it with his keys. Opening the door, he rushed over to his television and turned it on one of the news stations, turning the volume up.

Gerald Barnes, the most popular anchorman for the Angel Grove Afternoon news, was reporting on what Mr. Johnson was apparantly talking about. Tommy listened and watched with rapt attention. "Once again, it appears as though the space villainess, Astronema, has begun a full force assault against not only Angel Grove, but the entire Earth. Hundreds of her attack ships, our contacts tell us they're called Velocifighters, are headed towards Angel Grove and many other cities. We are asking citizens to please get somewhere safe before they arrive. I have personally spoken with General McCallister of NASADA and he tells me that they will arrive in less than an hour. Please, I urge you, get to safety before the attack begins."

Tommy turned the volume down slowly after listening to that. He rushed over to the window and looked up at the sky. Even though the Velocifighters were not yet entering Earth's atmosphere, he could see several dots in the sky that were them. Tommy exhaled a deep breath. He already felt it.

It was that rush of adrenaline that swam through him at the prospect of a battle. He assumed that he would always feel it when times like this ocurred. But right now, he had to get to Kat and make sure she was alright. Kat was staying with her parents. Tommy sighed in frustration. Her parents' house was on the other side of Angel Grove, in one of the wealthier suburbian neighborhoods of the city.

"Crap," he said, "it's going to take me at least twenty minutes to get there with the traffic the way it is."

Tommy walked over to the phone and picked it up, dialing the familiar number. It rang two times before a man's voice answered. "Mr. Hillard? It's Tommy."

"Tommy? Oh thank heavens! I take it you've just saw the news." Chester Hillard responded into the other end of the line.

"Yeah, I just saw the news. You need to take Kat and your wife and get to safety as quickly as you can..." Tommy started to say.

"Tommy?" a feminine voice spoke into the phone, with a distinctive Australian accent.

Tommy felt relief flow through him at the sound of Kat's voice. His eyes closed. "Yeah, it's me Kat. Listen, you and your folks need to get somewhere safe before those attack ships get here."

A sigh answered. "I know." there was a moment of silence. "Where are you now?" she asked him.

"I just got back to the apartment. I'm going to make sure my parents get to safety, then I'll get to over to you as quickly as I can. I'll carry my cell phone, so let me know where you and your folks go, okay?"

"I will..." Kat said. She sounded like she wanted to say more.

"Kat?" Tommy said into the phone, softening his tone.

"Yeah?"

"Don't worry, I'll be fine." he tried to reassure her.

"Just don't go try to be a hero, Tommy Oliver. Remember, you have a family now." Kat told him.

Tommy's shoulders dropped. She was right and he was no longer a Power Ranger. "I know, I'll see you soon."

The phone call ended and Tommy took a moment to just let the emotion from the past few minutes wash over him. Then, he put the phone down and grabbed his brown leather jacket, slugging it over his shoulders as he headed back out of his apartment. He'd go make sure his parents and little sister got to safety, then he'd find Kat and her folks and make sure they were all okay. Yeah, that's what he had planned.

Not knowing, of course, that his plans were about to be changed for the worse.


	3. Chapter 3

The Astro Megaship soared through the deep darkness of space. They were headed in the direction opposite of where Earth was. The Megaship had just completed it's exit from the Milky Way Galaxy on it's way to the location that the distress call that DECA picked up originated from. In the Milky Way Galaxy, hundreds and hundreds of Velocifighters were getting closer to Earth, less than an hour from the first wave of the assault.

Aboard the Megaship, four of the five Space Rangers were dressed in their flight uniforms and in the bridge, monitoring the different systems of the Megaship as it ventured through space, on route to it's distant location. The only Ranger not at the bridge was Andros. Instead, the Red Ranger was in his chambers, going over the message DECA had received less than twenty minutes prior.

He was sitting down at his desk, a computer screen settled on it's flat surface, the message playing on the screen. On the screen is Zhane, dressed in his silver and black uniform, looking back at the screen and speaking. In the background, the interior of a command tent on KO-35 is easily identified by Andros's expert eyes. He listened again as the message played itself out.

"Rangers, I hope this message reaches you and reaches you safely." Zhane's voice came through. "I'm sure you're probably already aware of what's happening. All of Dark Spectre's forces are attacking. Zedd & Rita, the Machines, Divatox's forces, all of them. Things are not well here either. King Mondo's Quadrafighters and Cogs have already pentetrated the outer barrier. The outer defenses here on KO-35 are being pushed back as I speak. We need help, but I know I can't ask you guys to come here, so I'm leaving KO-35 in the hopes that together, the six of us, can defeat Dark Spectre. That will stop all the other attacks all at once. I hope to you all soon, my friends."

Andros pressed a button on the keypad in front of the screen and watched Zhane's image dissolve from the screen, it's surface fading to black as it did so. The Red Ranger leaned back in his chair and let his mind drift over the events that have begun taking place. The others had already told him they'd contact him when they reached their designation.

Andros's thoughts wandered onto his sister. Even though he knew it was Dark Spectre's brainwashing that led his sister's actions, there was a part of him that still believed his sister was in there somehow and he was still hoping he'd be able to reach her. Andros thought about the past year, everything he'd gone through.

And thinking of the past year brought to his mind all the changes in his life. For as long as he could remember, he was a loner. He never liked having friends. Well, not many. Back when Dark Spectre chose KO-35 to attack, Zhane was about the only friend Andros wanted or needed. Then, Zhane had made that sacrifice that put him in the situation that forced Andros to put him in cryogenic stasis. It had been the only way to keep Zhane alive at the time and Andros had been convinced that his friend would never recover.

Andros had been wrong about that and he was glad that he was wrong. Then, of course, he'd taken the Megaship, with Zhane protected within it, and left KO-35. Leaving, Andros clearly had two objectives in mind. One, to find a way to stop Dark Spectre's evil and two, to find his sister. That was always his top priority.

Since the day she was taken by Darkonda, Andros never gave up on the hope that he'd find her. That was the promise he'd made to his parents before their death during the Dark Spectre attack. Tears sprung unbidden to Andros's eyes as he remembered his promise and his father's last words.

Andros had rushed back to his home, the home he had lived at for the majority of his home. Dark Spectre's forces had just began the attack full force, destroying the cities in no amount of time at all. But Andros had been too late. One of the Velocifighters had already killed his mother and his father lay there, on the ground, covered in blood.

Andros had dropped to his knees next to his father and looked into that face, seeing the scars from the many different wars his father had been a part of. It had been his father who'd helped to design the Space morphers and it had been his father who'd been the very first Red Space Ranger. His father had hair similar in color and style to Andros's own and he was taller, with a gray mustache.

At the time of the attack, his father had worn a Space uniform like Andros's. But laying there as he had, the uniform was covered in blood and burnt marks from the multiple fires that were around. And when he saw his son next to him, he'd reached up with his right hand and unstrapped the morpher from his left wrist, all without saying a word.

Wordlessly, he'd handed it over to Andros. "Son," his father had managed, "this is yours...now."

Andros had grasped the morpher, holding his father's hand in the process. "Wha..."

"Andros, don't argue with me." his father had said. "I...I want you to take this morpher, get to the Astro Megaship and leave. Leave KO-35! Find that bastard that took my your sister and make him pay." there'd been a moment of silence then. "Find your sister. Promise me you will."

Andros had stared at his father, knowing in his heart what his mind wouldn't say. His father was dying and there wasn't a thing he could do to stop it. "I promise father. I will find Karone. No matter what and I'll keep her safe." he promised just before his father had died there on that ground.

And remembering that day was painful to Andros in ways he still was having trouble grasping. He closed his eyes and let the tears fall. Trouble was, he'd only kept part of his promise. He'd found his sister. But she was far from being safe. But Andros was going to keep all of that promise. No matter what it took, he would undo what Dark Spectre did to his sister. He would.

A buzz interrupted Andros's musings. He pressed the button on the wall near the door. "Yes?"

"Andros?" T.J.'s voice came in, "We've just picked up Zhane on our radar. He's being pursued by some Velocifighters."

Without any further words, Andros left his quarters and ran through the corridors, heading towards the bridge as fast as his legs would carry him. Entering the bridge, he moved to his center seat and looked at the front screen. It showed Zhane, in his Silver Ranger suit and on his Galaxy Glider, being chased by three Velocifighters.

As they watched, one of the Velocifighters shot a blast at the Silver Ranger. The blast hit his Galaxy Glider and the impact of it knocked him off the Glider. He held onto the Glider with his arms, however, and took careful aim with his Super Silverizer and blasted at one of the Velocifighters, taking a wing off of it and sending the ship spiraling downward.

"Alright, bring us in behind them." Andros said.

"Will do." T.J. replied, his hands on the controls as he steered the large Megaship up behind the Velocifighters.

The Megaship's pure size was enough to alert the Velocifighters of it's presence. They paused in the middle of being about to destroy the Silver Ranger and looked back behind them. There were four of them and not one of them had their attention focused on the Silver Ranger any longer.

"Oh thank god." Zhane muttered from within his helmet as he spotted the Megaship.

Back within the bridge of the Megaship, Andros waited until the right moment, then he spoke a single word, the meaning behind it evident. "Fire."

Several blasts emitted from the Megaship and within mere moments, the Velocifighters were obliterated. Moments passed by and Zhane thought for sure the trouble was over. But as Zhane watched, one Velocifighter had survived the Megaship's blasts and flew in behind the Megaship, preparing to destroy it instantly. "Behind you!" Zhane cried out. "Okay, now it's my turn." he said a moment later. He aimed his Super Silverizer again and opened fire. The blasts hit the Velocifighter head on and there was nothing for the Quantron inside it to do but blow up along with the ship.

Andros rose from his chair. "I'm going to meet Zhane and make sure he's okay."

Andros walked from the bridge, not needing, really, to look behind him and know Ashley's concerned eyes were watching his departure. He couldn't deal with her concern right now. Too many other things were going on. And it was just beginning.

The army of Velocifighters were almost upon the Earth. Even Katherine Hillard could see that from where she was. She was still at her parents house, sitting in one of the chairs near the window. Her eyes were gazing out at the daytime sky and seeing the multiple dots that were the Velocifighters get bigger as the minutes rolled on by. She knew it wouldn't be long before the city was put under attack.

Her father was packing up some clothes and some canned foods because as he told her and her mother, they didn't know how long they'd be in the shelter this time and they needed to be prepared. Katherine looked down and exhaled a breath. So much has changed. She thought to herself.

Here she was, still with a couple years of college to finish, a former Power Ranger, engaged to be married to Tommy Oliver and stuck at her folks house until Tommy could reach her. She shook her head, not quite believing the situation she found herself. And glancing down, she chuckled at the one other major event that both she and Tommy are going through.

Nine months pregnant.

Her belly was nice and round, as round as any expecting mother is supposed to be. Her due date was in two weeks and Katherine's one big hope in the world was that she'd be able to deliver the child and truly begin the family she spoke to Tommy about on the phone just moments ago. She looked at the hallway where her parents had gone and let herself think about how she ended up in this situation.

Nine and a half months ago, Tommy had moved into his apartment and he'd sent invitations out to everyone he was close to. Sort of like an old house warming party. Kat smiled fondly at the memory of that party. Herself and Tommy, of course, were there. As well as Adam, Rocky, Jason, Tanya, Zack, and Tommy had even sent an invite out to Justin, who none of them had seen for quite some time. Well, ever since they retired as Rangers.

The party was as much of a success as Tommy could have hoped for. And after a few hours, when everyone else had left, she and Tommy had relaxed on the sofa and at first, they had just been talking. Then, the next thing they knew, they were kissing. And that kissing had led to skin on skin contact. Clothing had been removed, the kissing had turned from being a gentle exploration to a passionate duel, leaving both of them very aroused and aching for more.

And that's when they'd had to stop and look at each other. Katherine, still in her bra and pants, had looked at Tommy's face, his eyes in particular, and made the conscious and willing decision to take their relationship to that next level. Her trust in him was beyond any limits and Tommy knew that. She reached back behind her and unsnapped her bra, pulling it down her body and off.

And they'd spent that entire night together, intimately, physically, emotionally, together. They'd made love for hours. It had been a pleasureable night for the both of them. Both unsure of what pleased the other, but both putting their faith and trust in the other and it had been worth it. And now, Katherine was happy she'd taken that step. Even though having a child is not what she'd planned, it was something she wouldn't take back.

She looked forward to raising their son or daughter with Tommy. If it was a son, she would love teaching him all kinds of things and watching Tommy show him how to play basketball, football or whatever sport intrigued him. If it was a girl, Kat smiled shyly. That was what she was personally hoping for. There was so much she could teach a daughter and thinking about it, she was giddy with delight.

Kat's parents had taken the news a lot better than Kat had expected them to. When she and Tommy had first found out, they'd had a period of time to adjust to it, then they'd gone to Kat's parents. And her father had merely looked at them and asked, "when are you two getting married?"

And that had been the topic neither of them had wanted to broach. Katherine exhaled as the baby inside of her kicked. "Easy sweetie.." she said to her abdomen.

But everything had worked out. Tommy had proposed, after a wonderful dinner and a romantic movie and they were set to be wed in exactly three months and their child was due in two weeks. Life had been perfect for them.

So it must have been fate that the attacks on the universe happened now. For whatever reason, Katherine was going to make sure her child was kept safe and she knew Tommy would do whatever it took to protect the both of them.

Chester Hillard and his wife, Allison, came into the living room, having a few bags slung over their shoulders. Chester was a man a little taller than Tommy, with golden hair on his head, which was cut neatly, and a brown beard over his face. He was of medium build and he wore a business suit that he'd put on that morning. Allison was Kat's own height, with a darker shade of blonde hair, which was shoulder length, and she wore a yellow flowery dress. "Katherine, are you ready to go?" he asked his daughter.

Kat nodded and pushed herself up from the chair. She held her stomach with one hand as she moved towards the door, where her parents were heading.

Two things happened then. One, she saw, rather than felt, her parents fly into the air and hit the ground some feet from her and two, the front door exploded inward, a yellow colored bolt of energy taking the door right off it's hinges.

When the door exploded inward, a rush of heated air came with it from the blast. The rush of air hit Katherine full force and she was knocked back, hitting the ground with force. Her arms instinctively went to cradle her rounded belly as she hit the floor on her back. Pain wracked her lower back as she cried out. Her eyes went to the door in fear and a new fear hit her as she saw a certain face she was certain she'd never have to see ever again.

With wings of dark feathers and a gold armor over it, attached to a gold armored body with a golden sword in his hand, this being entered the house with a commanding authority, given it wasn't his home. Katherine felt a sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach as she gazed at the unwanted intruder. "Goldar." she whispered.

Goldar entered and walked over to where Katherine lay gasping, holding her stomach. "Hello, Kat. How nice it is to see you again?!" he laughed heartily.

Kat looked over to where her parents were. Luckily, the blast had knocked them out when they hit the floor, so they didn't have to know that she knew Goldar. She looked back at Goldar. "What do you want?" she asked the warrior.

Goldar stalked over to her, stopping until he was standing right next to her, looking down at her. "Your presence is required by the all powerful, Lord Zedd."

Kat scooted back as much as she could. "I'm not going anywhere with you."

Goldar chuckled at her resistance. "You don't have a choice." he told her. With his free hand, he reached behind him and produced a rolled up parchment with writing on it. He tossed it down near the spot where her parents lay, unconscious. Then, he put his sword away in it's pocket dimension and reached down, grabbing Katherine by the neck and hoisted her up.

Katherine felt pain wrack her body from the rough treatment. Her back ached even more when she was hauled up and her belly started aching so much so that she began seeing dots in her eyes. Then, mercilessly, she knew no more as consciousness left her.

Kat's body started to fall, but Goldar reached around held her against him. The warrior re-produced his sword and began sending bolts of energy at different parts of the house, setting what his blasts touched on fire. He then put his sword away once again and lifted Kat's body up, turning and walking away. Before he even reached the door, a yellow light consumed him and Kat and they were gone.

And just as they were leaving that house, the attack against Earth was officially beginning.


	4. Chapter 4

Andros reached the Ranger bay of the Astro Megaship just in time to see Zhane, still in his Silver Ranger suit, leaning against his Galaxy Glider, breathing heavily as he reached up with his left hand and unlatched the clips holding his helmet in place over his head. Silently, Andros watched his good friend undo the clips and pull the silver colored helmet off. Zhane's face was slightly pale and his eyes glossy as he took in deep breaths.

"Zhane?" Andros's voice drifted through the quiet.

Zhane looked over, his breathing starting to calm somewhat. "I'm okay, Andros. Those Velocifighters were getting a little too close, that's all." Zhane admitted. He got to his feet, holding his helmet and walked over to Andros, resting a reassuring hand on his shoulder when the concerned look Andros was giving him didn't leave his face. "Really...I'm okay."

"Okay." Andros replied. He was willing to let it go for now because he simply didn't have the time to press the issue further. Not with the war of the universe unraveling before them. He turned and gestured for Zhane to walk with him. "Come on." he said instead.

Andros and Zhane walked along the corridors that led back towards the bridge of the Megaship.

"Alright," Andros said, "what's going on? Your message said something about KO-35 under attack?"

Zhane nodded. "The rebels are under attack. So far, they've held them off, but they need our help."

Andros shook his head sadly, filled with regret. "It isn't just the rebels Zhane. Dark Spectre, Astronema, Divatox, Rita and Zedd...they're all involved in attacks all over the universe."

Reaching the bridge, the two Space Rangers enter it, where the other four Space Rangers are navigating the Megaship back in the direction of Earth. Andros took in the tense faces of his Earth born friends and exhaled a deep breath. "What is it?" Andros asked them.

T.J. looked at the monitors. "Divatox has conquered Gratha, Andros."

"Rita and Zedd are attacking the Vika Galaxy and the Vika have...Andros, they don't have any defenses." Cassie said, her voice tinged with worry.

Carlos was looking over different monitors at his station of the bridge. Now, hearing Cassie's voice, he looked over at Andros and Zhane. "The Vika are peaceful, they don't know about war...they won't know what hit them."

Zhane took in those words, then looked at Andros. He saw a similar look of tense worry and grief echoed on his friend's face. "They're trying to conquer the whole Universe." he said.

Each and every Ranger stopped moving at those words, in their own minds...they were now realizing the importance of what their enemies were doing. Andros nodded, however. "Exactly and if we don't stop them...they'll succeed."

They all were silent as the Megaship continued to soar through the blackness of space, back towards the Milky Way galaxy. Carlos looked at one of the monitors when he heard a beep come from the controls. His eyes widened and his eyebrows hiked up. "Hey," he said slowly, "look at this. Over a thousand Velocifighters."

"Heading where?" Andros asked instantly. Although, being as he was an intelligent enough person, he already had an inkling of an idea of where those Velocifighters were heading.

Carlos studied the screen before him. "Heading..." his voice faltered as his eyes took in the results to his quiery. He brought the image of the Velocifighters and where they were headed to the screen in front of everyone, the largest screen in the bridge. "...heading for Earth."

They all looked up at the screen and shock colored their faces when they saw the image on the screen. On the screen, there were indeed at least a thousand Velocifighters edging closer and closer to the Earth. It was an eerie feeling seeing that sight and knowing they wouldn't make it back before the attack against Earth began.

Without saying a word, Andros walked over to his station of the bridge and sat down, manning the controls. He exhaled a deep breath, preparing the Megaship for a warp drive trip. "Hang on Earth," Andros said, "we're on our way."

As his words faded away, he propelled the Megaship into hyper warp, zooming through the outer realms of space, faster than the speed of light.

A red Jeep moved down the streets in Angel Grove at a restless pace. This Jeep moved around other cars in the street and dodged cars, sped around curves, occasionally hitting the sidewalk before moving back to the road as it made many different turns, heading towards a certain neighborhood.

Behind the wheel of the Jeep, a very anxious and concerned Tommy Oliver watched the road in front of him, his mind hardly on the pavement in front of him. Instead, all of his attention was focused on a house just a few minutes away and a feeling he got that put him even more on edge than he was when he left his apartment.

About five minutes prior, when he was about halfway across the distance of his apartment and the Hillards home, he felt this tendril of fear go through him, like that feeling you got when you knew something bad had just happened and when he felt it, he knew immediately that something had happened at Kat's parents home. That made him hurry as fast as he could, hardly caring how many traffic laws he was breaking by his reckless driving as it was.

He turned his Jeep around a corner of the street he was moving down and he felt his heartrate pick up. Just down the street was the Hillards house, part of it's roof aflame with fire and strong smoke drifting up out of the windows on all sides. "No, no, no, NO, NOO!" Tommy's voice got louder and louder as his Jeep stopped when Tommy slammed on the brakes, his Jeep stopping just at the yard of the Hillards house.

He shoved the door open and dove out, moving around and running up to the house. The fire department had yet to arrive and with the attack against the world, just about to begin, there was a doubt in his mind that they'd bother with a house on fire at all.

Tommy reached the front door of the house and he raised his arms up to shield his face from the intense heat of the flames and smoke in the house. He shouldered the door open and stepped inside the house, looking around. Thick and very hot flames were everywhere in the house, smoke covering much of the air in the house. Tommy's eyes looked back and forth, trying to see if he could find Kat, but he found his attention focused on two forms laying near the wall next to the staircase.

The forms were unmoving.

Instinct flared movement within him and he moved over to them. He knew who they were immediately. Chester and Allison Hillard. His soon to be in-laws. Tommy saw a rolled up piece of parchment paper laying on the ground and he grabbed it, stuffing it into his back pocket. He had assumed it belonged to Chester Hillard. Tommy reached down, hardly aware of the danger of the sizzling flames almost tickling his skin, and grabbed Allison Hillard's small frame and hefted it into his arms.

As quickly as he could, he moved out of the house and to the grass outside the house, settling her down on the greed blades of the yard. Without waiting for a breath, he moved back into the house and went to where Chester Hillard was laying. He reached down and put his arms under Chester's, the man's back facing Tommy and he pulled Chester out as quick as he could.

Moments ticked by as he cleared the house, with Chester with him. And just as Tommy got to his knees, the Hillards safe from the fiery inferno of the house, the upper level of the house collapsed from the flames weakening the structure of the wood inside it. A blast of hot air rushed from the house as it collapsed and Tommy, his face covered with dirt and smut, covered his face from the heated air.

Tommy leaned back, tears springing unbidden to his eyes as he made a realization. He was too late. Kat was dead and so was the child they were going to have together. Tommy closed his eyes, only moments away from grief filled sobs ripping through him.

Then, he felt a hand touch his hand and he had to force himself not to break down in front of the Hillards. He opened his eyes and looked down. Chester's eyes gazed back at him. "T-tommy..." Chester's voice was weak.

"Y...yeah sir. I'm...I'm sorry I couldn't get here sooner." Tommy said.

"Th-this wasn't your fault, Tommy." Chester said, leaning up on an elbow as he turned to his wife's body. He pressed a couple of fingers to Allison's throat and sighed in relief. "Allison will be okay." he said it more to himself than to Tommy.

In the distance, they could just make out the fire truck on it's way to the house, it's sirens already heard by the two men. Tommy looked down, shaking his head. "I shouldn't have left her yesterday." he said forlornly.

Chester looked at him. "Tommy, this was NOT your fault. I know you have a tendency to blame yourself for what happens to your friends, but this IS NOT your fault. It couldn't be."

Tommy looked at him. "What?"

"When we were ready to leave, something outside made the door explode. That's what knocked us out." Chester shook his head, then his eyes widened. "Wait, what about that piece of paper...it was laying next to me!"

Tommy reached behind him and produced the paper. He then looked back at Chester, raising his eyebrows. "You mean...it's not yours?"

Chester shook his head. "No, I felt it hit the ground next to me just before I lost consciousness. And...and I believe...at least I think it was, but I'm fairly sure I heard Kat's voice. Talking to someone...I can't remember."

Tommy swallowed and unrolled the parchment. Then, he re-read it, a flush of rage beginning to form itself in the pit of his stomach.

Tommy...

You and I have a long ago issue to settle. Bottom line, I have your precious Kat. You want her back, then you'll do what I say. I will give you the instructions on how to get her back, but you will do it on my terms or I will cause her bodily harm. Her and the unborn child the two of you share. In one hour, I want you to go to the old abandoned power plant on the outskirts of Angel Grove. Come alone or I will make you regret it.

Zedd.

A name he thought he'd never hear from ever again. Once his days as a Power Ranger ended, he'd thought and hoped all the worldly dangers that came with being a Ranger were over. He was wrong and now, Kat was in extremely grave danger because of it. His hand crumpled the paper, the stark whiteness of his knuckled visible to the watching Chester.

Chester Hillard had never seen Tommy Oliver with that type of anger crossing his face and he'd known Tommy for a little over two years. "Tommy, are you alright?"

Tommy looked at the older man. "I'm okay, sir." Tommy paused, letting the situation settle over him and let his mind begin thinking about ways to protect both himself and Katherine, along with their unborn child. "Kat's going to be fine, sir. I promise you that."

Without a further word, Tommy turned and walked back to his Jeep. He knew the authorities and the ambulance would arrive in mere moments, so the Hillards would be safe. What his mind was focused on now, of course, was how to get his family out of this very serious and very deadly situation they were now in. He knew Zedd would keep his word if he did involve anyone, so he would deal with this on his own, alone.

Tommy got in his Jeep and closed the door, breathing heavily and trying to think. Mindlessly, his eyes drifted to the sky. The Velocifighters were getting very closer to the city. The attack was almost upon the world.

The highway that stretched aimlessly between Angel Grove and Stone Canyon was packed with different cars. There were about fifty miles, maybe less, between the two cities. Scared and frightened, some citizens from the two cities had began to flee towards other areas where they hoped would be safer to be. Very few of the cars, however, were heading towards the city.

But there was one car that was. A silver SUV drove through the lane, the three entrants very happy that the lane they drove through wasn't packed full of other vehicles. The driver of the car was a man in his early twenties. He wore a pair of black pants with black shoes and a dark blue dress shirt tucked into the pants, the buttons of the shirt buttoned all the way up to the neck. The shirt, a long sleeved one, was a darker shade of blue.

His hands were on the wheel, moving the vehicle down the lane and towards Angel Grove. The car was only about three minutes from reaching the city he once called his home. He hadn't been back in Angel Grove for over a year and a half. Instead, he'd moved down to Florida and went into opening his own business, a martial arts dojo, using what money his family had given him and on the side, he'd started taking college classes to better help him to run his business.

Rocky DeSantos sighed heavily as his eyes tracked to the sky, where the hundreds of Velocifighters were gathering even closer to the Earth. The dots that they were had gotten slightly larger as the minutes ticked by and now, they were almost upon their targets. The former Blue Zeo Ranger sped up on the gas pedal and the car moved faster along the road.

"Don't go too fast, Rocky." the voice from the seat next to him said.

"I know." Rocky said, turning to look at the dark haired woman sitting next to him. As he turned his eyes back to the road, he couldn't help but let his thoughts linger on her, even as his eyes no longer were on her. Penny Harding was the young woman who Rocky had met during his later days as the Blue Zeo Ranger. He had admired her early on because of her martial arts ability. Of course, it wasn't just her ability he admired.

It was the fact that she was blind that grabbed his attention. Being blind wasn't considered a disability to the young woman, she could defend herself in a battle, regardless of the loss of sight. And even after that first series of arguments she had with him, Penny Harding couldn't help but feel pulled towards him. They had started dating mere months before Rocky's back injury that resulted in his decision to retire as a Ranger.

Of course, he didn't know one thing about her, even to this day. And that was that Penny was well aware of his being a Power Ranger. She didn't tell him, of course, but she knew. That day when he morphed merely feet from her, she heard it then, even as softly as he had spoken the morphing command, she'd heard it. It had been a shock, but that had been the turnaround in their relationship. Learning that one fact about him had been a very interesting realization.

And through their dating, the two of them had gotten closer. They both were far from being ready for marriage, but they were content with the relationship they had. In fact, it had been his desire to have more free time with Penny that had been the leading reason why Rocky chose to allow Justin to take his place as the Blue Ranger when they began using the Turbo powers.

Rocky navigated the car around a curve that led closer to Angel Grove. Silence dredged on in the car for the next few moments as they edged closer to the city. "Rocky, in case I haven't said thanks, thanks again." a voice from the backseat said.

Rocky looked in the mirror slightly above him and saw the face looking back. He smiled. "It really was no problem, Kim. I'm just glad you called."

Kimberly Hart nodded, her attention drawn to the approaching attack ships in the sky. The former Pink Ranger tried to relax in the seat, but the worry for all her old friends and family in Angel Grove were clearly evident. Her life, Rocky reflected, was filled with surprises and twists as well as his had been.

It began when she left being the Pink Power Ranger behind. Going to Florida, with the purpose of competing in the Pan Global Games under Coach Smidth. Indeed, she had worked long and hard, training for the Games and eventually competing in the Games. That had been a high point in her life, winning the awards she had won beaming in the spotlight after the Games had ended.

Then, Kimberly had been forced to make a decision. She evaluated her life to that point and she made the decision that although she left Angel Grove to make her dream come true, that dream had changed. Her dream was no longer being in the Games, she'd done that and excelled at it. No, she found that her dream had changed to something else entirely. And thinking about it, she found herself desiring to go into the world of music.

Something she had never expected to even think about. But now, she was wanting to do it more and more. She knew she had an okay enough singing voice, but it wasn't until she spoke with an expert that she learned she could find great success in it. And over the course of the last year, she'd been working with the Record company that had signed her in making her very first album. It was almost ready for release.

And now, Kimberly thought to herself, the world is about to be under attack.

"I can't believe what's happening." Kimberly said. "I thought the worst was behind us, Rocky."

Rocky nodded and quirked a small smile. The way she phrased it didn't hold any wording that would refer to their Ranger days. Penny smiled, just now figuring out that Kimberly must have been a Power Ranger once as well.

The Angel Grove population sign came into view as Rocky's car passed it by and they were officially within the city's limits. And as they returned to the city they knew so well, the danger of the thousand of Velocifighters loomed over the horizon.


	5. Chapter 5

The Dark Fortress hovered stock still in space, near the Earth's moon. From within the Dark Fortress, Astronema and Ecliptor stood watching the main viewing screen, seeing the Velocifighters almost upon the the cities of the Earth.

"The time of Earth's peace and freedom is about to end, my princess." Ecliptor said, looking over at Astronema.

Astronema turned and looked back at her second in command, her lips lifting upward. "Indeed, it is." she said. After a moment, she turned and looked at the far wall. Wordlessly, she walked over to the far wall. There was a cylinder shaped object there. A dark brown cape blanketed over the object. Astronema reached up and pulled the cape back, the cloth touching the ground.

And there he was. The mentor to all of the Power Rangers of Earth to this date. The legendary being known for his intelligence, his leadership qualities, his capacity for kindness and most of all, his wisdom. He was Zordon of Eltare. A trapped being that had been hoarded off from planet to planet by Dark Spectre to finally end up here, on the Dark Fortress before Astronema.

The lava that was slowly draining Zordon of all his energy and giving it to Dark Spectre was almost to the bottom of Zordon's face now. Astronema regarded him silently for a moment, knowing that, in his wisdom, he was doing the same to her at this moment. "Welcome to the Dark Fortress Zordon. I hope you are enjoying your stay."

Zordon didn't respond for a few seconds. "As much as can be expected, Karone."

"Why do you insist on calling me by that name? I am Astronema, Princess of Evil." she said. "It appears as though you are almost out of power and energy. Soon, you will be nothing more than a distant memory, gone forever."

"Astronema, you and Dark Spectre will never succeed." Zordon told the villainess.

"Oh no," Astronema purred, "we have already taken the Phantom Ranger, the planet he protects, the Gold Ranger and his home world of Triforia, and we have captured Eltare, Aquitar, and..." she paused, as though fighting an inner dilemma. She forged on "...KO-35."

Zordon looked compassionately at the red haired villainess. "You may destroy me and you may have already captured much of the universe, but there are those on Earth that will stand up against your tyranny. Rangers, though no longer active, they will stand together to face you."

Astronema laughed. "Oh, I'm sure your right. When the attack begins, there probably will be Rangers, old ones, to fight. But we will destroy them. We will destroy whoever stands against us."

Zordon made an effort to reach her. "Karone, you can stop this. You can. Before it is too late."

"Perhaps," Astronema agreed, "but why would I want to? This is so much fun."

"Karone..." Zordon tried again.

She interrupted him. "Zordon, you have a front row seat to the end of your era...and the beginning of mine."

Zordon's silence was enough to prove the truth of her own words.

Small crowds of worried citizens were walking along the streets, some of them not having seen the news to know what was going on and were just heading home after a long and stressful day at work. Their attention were drawn upward. The Velocifighters were here. They had arrived.

And the invasion was about to begin. The large army of Velocifighters appeared in the atmosphere, clouding the skies with their abundance, just above the skyscrapers in the city. Some of the Velocifighters zoom down from the others and soar down to where the citizens and cars are. They open fire on the city.

On the ground, Piranatrons, onboard their bikes, emerge from virtually out of nowhere, blasting at the buildings and citizens alike. Cars skid and slam into the sides of buildings, and the citizens scream as they run for cover. Skyscrapers explode as the blasts from the ships take effect. Windows are smashed and chunks of the buildings fall to the ground, fire erupting everywhere.

But the Velocifighters are far from through. Even as the buildings are being destroyed, they fly down low, where citizens are running for their lives and they fire again and again and again, not stopping until bodies are laying on the ground, dead and unmoving.

Indeed, anything and everything in the path of the Velocifighters and Piranatrons are fired upon.

Tommy pressed on the brakes in his red Jeep as he pulled up to his family's Angel Grove home. His parents were already at the monster shelter provided by the Angel Grove Youth Center. Tommy had made sure his folks were taken care of just after he left the Hillard's residence. His mind was filled with different projections of ways to get him and Kat out of this situation without losing their unborn child.

And he was frustrated that he was not coming up with many outcomes that were positive. Tommy hopped out of the Jeep and hurried to the front door. It was slightly ajar, evidence that his parents and sister didn't take the time to lock the house up before they left for the monster shelter. Tommy entered the house and hurried through the living room, up the stairs to the room his father used as storage.

He was here for a reason. Upon leaving the Hillard's family home, Tommy had come to realize that he wouldn't be able to save Katherine and stop Zedd by himself. Even in the old days, he'd had someone looking out after him. And that someone had been Zordon. Now, Zordon was gone, out of his reach, and Tommy had to save the woman he loved as well as get them both to safety.

And he realized he would need to use something he hadn't used in so long. His Zeonizers.

Tommy used the key he had on his key chain and unlocked the room used for storage. Of course, his parents nor his sister were even aware that he had them kept in the house and that was the way Tommy had wanted it. The obvious place to hide it would have been in his own home. But keeping it with his family would never have been considered by anyone who would have wanted it. Tommy's lips quirked. He had tried to convince his brother to take it, but David had told him in no uncertain terms that he had no interest in even holding the morphers, so the storage room was the answer to Tommy's question.

Now, he was here to get the morphers back and use them for good once again. Only this time, Tommy was going to break one of the rules Zordon had instilled within him so long ago. Never use your power for personal gain. And ultimately, what Tommy was going to do with the power today would be for personal gain. Tommy just didn't have any options left.

He entered the storage room his adoptive parents had for the house. As the name implies, it was filled with stuff they didn't use and so, kept for storage in case they would need the items at a later date. But unlike other storage rooms that Tommy has seen, his father kept a neat one. Boxes were piled on top of one another, extra television sets were settled next to each other, and other various electronic equipment were packed together.

Tommy didn't have to worry, however, about going through all of it. He knew where his old Zeonizers were. He moved to the back wall of the room and felt the wall with his hands. Within moments, he'd found the loose board in the back of the wall and he moved the loose board aside and there it was. A small black box taped in between the wall. Tommy grabbed the box and pulled it out of the wall, moving the piece of wall back in place.

Tommy carefully blew some dust off the top of the black case and then he opened the box slowly. Inside, surrounded by old rags he'd carefully put there to protect the device, was his old Zeonizers. They still looked as good as the day he'd first received them in the Power Chamber. Tommy exhaled a deep breath, closing the box back and beginning to walk out of the storage room.

Halfway to the door, he stopped. His eyes drifted to a certain box stacked against the side wall to his right. His eyes remained on the box, unmoving. Days from now, Tommy would not have an answer as to why his attention was so suddenly drawn to a certain box. But at the moment, his eyes were on that box and he found himself walking to it. He set the black box down and dragged the box towards him.

Opening the lid of the box his eyes had been drawn to, he looked inside to see what was there. Most of the box was filled with old picture albums, but at the bottom, Tommy could make out an old white sheet, wrapped around something. Carefully, Tommy pulled the sheet and what it was wrapped around out of the box. The object was long in shape and just by the feel, Tommy instinctively knew what he was about to unveil.

A sword. More than that, it felt like a strong sword. Unwrapping the sheet from around the object, Tommy's suspicion was correct when a sword appeared within the sheet. Long silver steel glistened in the light of the room with a gold ring encased halfway up the length of the steel blade. At the point of the sword, there was a gold point edged into the steel. The handle, though, was what Tommy found the most striking.

The handle was black with gold lining carved and etched into it. It reminded him of his old White Ranger sword, Saba, in that the head at the handle resembled a creature. But while Saba had appeared like the Tiger, this creature resembled a long ago dinosaur. Tommy's eyebrows hiked as he gazed at the sword. He didn't have the time to analyze all this because he didn't have that much time before he was to meet Zedd at the power plant just on the outskirts of Angel Grove.

And he knew it would take him some time to get through the Quantrons and Piranatrons that were beginning to invade the streets. Taking the sword and the black box, he made his way out of the storage room.

Just as a loud crash sounded downstairs.

With the sword and box in his hands, Tommy rushed down the hallway to the stairs just in time to see at least ten Quantrons rushing through the open doors in the house. "Shit." Tommy cursed. "I really don't have time for this."

The Quantrons had yet to notice him, so Tommy had a few moments to think quickly. He opened the box and slipped the Zeonizers on his wrists and he tossed the sheet down, holding the sword in his hand. And holding it, he felt a rush of energy flow through every inch of his body. His eyes closed and for a moment, it was like he was floating. The rush was incredible, as if the sword itself was calling out to him...summoning him to some other place. But Tommy opened his eyes and took a deep breath.

Then, he moved. He went down the stairs and waited until the Quantrons spotted him. It only took them a moment, but they finally did spot him. Tommy smiled, not a nice one at all. With the anger of Zedd's abduction of Kat in his mind and heart, he faced the robotic beings coming towards him. "Who's first?" he said to them, simply.

The Quantrons seemed to pause for a moment, then they all charged at the stairs. Tommy rushed down the steps to meet them, not hesitating in the least. His right arm was a blur of movement. The steel of the sword struck out at one Quantron, tearing through it's body easily. Then, Tommy twisted around and struck it out at other Quantrons that charged at him. Each time the steel struck the Quantron, that said Quantron was destroyed. Tommy moved forward, whipping his left leg out and knocking a Quantron down the stairs.

Tommy continued to move down the stairs, however, using the sword to take one after another out while moving down the stairs. Finally, he was at the bottom of the stairs, facing more Quantrons than he was expecting. Neatly taking a Quantron's head off, he took a quick look around the house. It was in shambles, everything thrown about, the couch ripped apart, holes were in the walls, but Tommy looked ahead of all that to see the front door. He had to get there and get out of the house.

Time was running out.

He swung the sword in an arc at a Quantron, but the robot had noticed it's comrades fall from that deadly sword and it dodged out of the way. At the same time, a Quantron had approached from behind him. Now, that Quantron reached out with it's large double bladed weapon and swung it down, flat side out, at Tommy's hand. The steel hit his hand and Tommy gasped at the pain.

The sword dropped to the ground and skittered across the floor to land against the wall of the living room. Tommy clutched his hand to him with his other hand. He had taken a good deal of the Quantrons out with the sword and his own martial arts skills, but there were still too many in the house for him to take out. And that's when it happened.

He made a sad realization. He wasn't going to make it out of this alive. Tommy breathed another deep breath into his body. He looked at his hands and his eyebrows raised, finally remembering he'd strapped his morphers on. He gave the approaching Quantrons a look, then prepared his hands for the morphing motion.

Before he could complete the action, however, two Quantrons emerged from each side of him, grabbing his arms and pulling them out, holding him captive. Tommy struggled greatly, but the Quantrons were far stronger than even the Cogs had been and he couldn't break the hold they had on him. Tommy watched in desperation as a Quantron with it's double blades approached him, it's point aimed straight for his head.

This...really is the end. Tommy realized with a deep, heart filled sigh. I'm sorry, Kat.

Tommy's eyes closed as he anticipated the final strike. The last thought that passed through him as he waited was about the life he and Kat would have had with their child.

Then, Tommy heard a series of crashes rush through the room. Two crashes followed it and Tommy felt his arms released. It was then that he realized he wasn't dead. Tommy opened his eyes and looked around. The Quantrons were scattered across the ground, destroyed and unmoving. He looked at the doorway and saw a figure standing there. Breathing heavily, Tommy rose to his feet.

The figure was wearing a suit familiar to a Ranger's suit in it's texture and appearance. Over the arms, chest, helmet, and lower legs was golden armor and the individual held a long sword in his hand. He stepped forward into the light. A few moments of silence passed as Tommy and the individual stared at each other. Finally, the stranger's helmet, only the face covering, raised from it's face and looked at Tommy. "Figured you might need some help." a faintly familiar voice said.

And Tommy recognized the face instantly. He was shocked at who stood here. An old friend to be sure, but, it was still a shock. Especially considering he wasn't even supposed to be on Earth. Tommy felt a sense of reassurance go through him as he stared at the person in front of him. "Billy." he said finally, a smile tugging across his face.


	6. Chapter 6

Earth was now involved in the full assault for the universe. The thousand Velocifighters were not only attacking Angel Grove, but they spread out to cover the entire world. Nearly every country were being attacked by the Velocifighters and the fire power they possessed. And that was only the attack by the air.

On the ground, Quantrons and Piranatrons alike were swarming like locusts upon the major cities of the world, flooding the streets and going straight for unsuspecting citizens. In a country on the other side of the world than where Angel Grove was, the country Switzerland to be precise, there were two people fighting together.

They were on a compound with many large buildings and very few people around because they had been taken underground to the shelter areas built for tornado protection. Today, however, they were being used to protect the people from the attack going on all across the world.

"Man," one of the two individuals stated, kicking the chest of a Quantron, "I can't believe what's happening right now."

The other individual, a woman in her twenties with long dark hair, nodded at her friend's words after she whipped her leg out and caught a Piranatron across the face, sending him down to the ground with a loud thud. The woman turned swept the legs out of a Quantron, sending the mechanical being down as well.

There were more Quantrons heading their way, though. They had gotten lucky when the assault first reached Switzerland. Only about twenty of the foot soldiers had invaded the compound and these two individuals, expert martial artists and former protectors of the world and been able to handle them with ease. But now, the compound walls were being broken and there would be hundreds of Quantrons and Piranatrons heading their way.

Trini Kwan wiped her brow, looking at her close friend, seeing his concern that matched her own. "What are we gonna do, Zack?" she asked him, tiredly.

Zack Taylor turned from knocking the last Piranatron down that was of the group that had made it to the compound and looked back at her. He reached down to his pocket, pulling out something. He showed it to Trini.

Trini's eyes widened at what Zack held in his hand. It was the Mastadon Power Coin. "Zack...you know we can't use the coins."

The former Black Ranger looked at Trini. He knew she was already considering using the Sabre Tooth Tiger Power Coin. "What choice do we have Trini? Those things are gonna tear us apart if we don't use 'em."

"What about what Adam told us? You don't believe him?" she tried to reason with him, but inside, she was already seriously contemplating using the coin to fight Dark Spectre's forces.

"Trini, we may not be Power Rangers full time anymore, but once a Ranger, always a Ranger. Isn't that the saying we used to have?" Zack said.

She didn't answer and he turned to look at the compound wall once again. The Quantrons and Piranatrons were almost through. They were hacking away with their weapons, trying to get through so they could continue their rampage through the area. He was going to use his coin, there was no doubt about that now. He would take whatever consequences came from using it later. And while he breathed deep breaths, he remembered the trip Adam had made out to the compound.

It had been about five months prior to the day of the assault. Zack and Trini had been busy with the latest efforts for the Peace Conference and Zack had gotten a call from the security office stating that a friend was here to see him and Trini. And blindly, he'd asked who it was.

Hearing the name Adam Park had given him a shock. Mainly because Zack had only met him once, he'd given him clearance and Adam had stayed a few hours, talking about things with Zack and Trini and giving them an update on what was happening in Angel Grove.

The two of them had learned about Zordon's departure, his capture by Dark Spectre and the events of the past year. And that had led to Adam's real reason for the visit. He'd taken two wrapped objects out of the small duffel bag he'd carried with him and presented the Mastadon Power Coin and the Sabre Tooth Tiger Power Coin and extended them towards their original owners.

"I believe these are yours." Adam had said, simply.

And blindly, still in shock from seeing them, both of them had taken the coins, looking at Adam in silence.

And Adam had realized that an explanation was needed, so he had given one. "A couple weeks back, I was helping a friend and I used the coin. I guess the coins still have enough energy to be used again. Though, I'm not really sure how much longer. They are dangerous to use, both of you need to know that. I'm bringing them to you now...because I guess I realize that...back then, I took your place Zack because you joined the Peace efforts. But the Mastadon coin was never really mine, I felt. So, I kind of thought you deserved to have it back." Adam had paused. "If the time comes that you have to use it again, just be warned...the coins are unstable. I can't really be sure what could happen."

Adam had stayed a little longer before he'd had to get back to Angel Grove. That was then and now, looking at the coin he held, he was wondering what kind of effect using the coin would have on him. He was about to find out.

In another part of the world, in Africa to be exact, the small peaceful village that another former Power Ranger, Aisha Campbell, had decided to live in so that she could help out the problems with the animals, the attack was just beginning to reach them. The peaceful villagers, not having weapons at all, were trying to find somewhere, anywhere that they could hide and seek protection from.

There were five Velocifighters in the air, opening fire and destroying the small homes that had been built over the years. Aisha Campbell was doing her best to fight off the Piranatrons that were attacking on the ground, but she was fighting a losing battle. She was now beginning to wonder if it was a good idea to give her old Power Coin to Adam to give back to Trini.

Oh well, she thought, too late for that now. Aisha somarsaulted over a Piranatron and kicked it in the back, sending it crashing to the ground. She turned and ran over to one of the few buildings that was still standing after the first round of blasts from the Velocifighters and she grabbed a long wooden staff that was lying there. She held it expertly in her hands, readying herself for the oncoming Quantrons and Piranatrons.

She caught one Quantron across the face with the end of the staff, then she twisted around and struck a Piranatron across the face with the opposite end of the staff. She heard a Quantron coming up behind her and threw her leg back, catching the robot at the chest and knocking it down. As her foot replanted on the ground, she felt a red hot painful sensation tear through her shoulder.

The pain drove her to her knees in agony as she clutched at her left shoulder. She looked down. There was blood seeping from her skin and soaking through her bright yellow sleeveless shirt. One of the Velocifighters had struck her in the shoulder once the Quantron flying it had seen her expertly wielding the staff. On her knees and trying to protect her shoulder, she was nothing more than a sitting duck to the onrush of Quantrons and Piranatrons heading her way and she new it.

They didn't touch her until they had completely surrounded her. The pain that was tearing through her shoulder was nearly imbearable. It was making her dizzy and she was having incredible trouble just keeping her eyes open. The Quantron in front of her raised it's double blade up and swung down for the death strike at her skull and with the pain she was feeling, she semi-welcomed the peace that death would bring.

But it didn't come. Halfway down, she saw a bright red blast hit the Quantron, knocking it down for a final time. Then she saw more blasts of the same color hit the other Piranatrons and Quantrons that were still surrounding her. Wearily, she looked over across the field that the blasts had come from and a surprise was there, riding her way. She felt a sense of strange relief go through her at who was coming.

Across the field on top of their Zeo Cycles were the Green and Yellow Zeo Rangers, morphed and heading their way. She kept a hold of her shoulder as the Zeo Cycles came to a stop and the two Rangers got off the Cycles and ran over to her.

Adam took his helmet off when he reached Aisha and set it down as he lowered to one knee. "God...are you alright Aisha?" he asked one of his two best friends.

Wearily, she managed to nod once. "I'm...I'm losing blood, Adam. One of those ships...hit me."

Tanya removed her helmet as well and dropped to one knee on Aisha's other side. "Adam, we need to get Aisha to a hospital right away."

Adam nodded. "Okay, the attack seems to be sticking to the big cities mainly. The hospitals are going to be packed with injured people enough as it is."

"I'll...I'll be fine guys, really." Aisha tried to convince them.

Adam shook his head. "I don't think so, Aisha. Your coming with us. We'll get you to the nearest hospital."

Too tired to argue the point any further from the blood loss that she'd already sustained, Aisha could do no more than nod. Adam picked up his Zeo helmet and slipped it back on. Rising, he gently picked up his friend and walked back over to the Zeo Cycle. They headed back the way they came, on towards the nearest town with a hospital, completely unaware that the city was almost completely destroyed by more Velocifighters and Quantrons.

Tommy felt the shock fading away as he stared at his old friend. The only part of Billy that was actually showing was his face as the remainder of him was covered by the black suit with the gold armor. Tommy wordlessly walked over to the wall and picked up the sword that was knocked out of his hands. A second later, he started walking towards the door. "What are you doing here, Billy?" Tommy asked as he walked by Billy and out the door.

Billy Cranston turned his body sideways so Tommy could get by him, as he was filling the doorway with his presence. Billy then reached up with his left hand and his body was absorbed in light for a mere moment before he was back in his normal attire. Unmorphed, he was wearing the most recent clothing he'd worn. He wore a pair of black jeans with a black button up t-shirt tucked into them, the first three buttons left unbuttoned. A white t-shirt was clearly seen under the black shirt over it and he had a black leather jacket on over the shirt, it's length going just below the waist level.

Billy followed Tommy out the door. The sounds of people crying and screaming could be heard along with the sounds of more explosions and Velocifighters soaring through the skies. But for the moment, there were not anymore Piranatrons or Quantrons in the neighborhood they were standing in. Billy put his hands in his jeans pockets and watched his long time friend. "I thought it'd be a good time to come say hello." he said at last.

Tommy stopped, just short of his Jeep. He turned around and eyed Billy. "Funny," he snorted, "you come to visit just when Earth is being invaded. Nice timing."

Billy stopped as well at Tommy's words. The former Blue Ranger wasn't expecting this kind of response from his long time friend. He knew Tommy would be shocked at his appearance, but he was privately hoping for at least civility from him. Billy rested his hands on his hips and sighed, looking at Tommy's face.

Tommy was the first to look away. He looked at the ground. "Sorry...there's...there's a lot going on right now." he said. "More than you know."

"Look," Billy said after a few moments passed by with nothing but silence filling it, "I came back because I want to do what I can to help. Not just help you, but help everyone. I know a lot's happening here right now."

"Yeah," Tommy nodded, walking to his Jeep, then turning around and resting his back against the Jeep, "and your not the only one who's decided to come back to Earth."

Billy's eyebrows raised, evidence of his surprise in the statement. "What do you mean?"

Tommy looked at him, dead on. "Zedd's back."

"Well yeah, I mean, all the forces of evil are invading..." Billy started.

Tommy shook his head. "No, Zedd's here...on Earth."

"Oh."

"Yeah." Tommy nodded. "And...he's taken Kat hostage."

"He's..." Billy said.

"Taken her hostage." Tommy cut him off.

"And Kat's..." Billy left the word hanging.

"That's right." Tommy said.

Billy shook his head, taking the words in. Tommy waited a moment, then he turned and reached for the sword, looking at it. After a few more seconds, Billy looked up and eyed Tommy's back. "How do you know for sure Zedd's got her?" Billy asked.

Tommy produced the rolled up piece of parchment and showed it to Billy. The former Blue Ranger looked at it, examining the words etched onto the paper's surface. Looking back at Tommy, Billy looked at a friend changed by experience since the last time he'd seen him. "Do you have a plan, Tommy?" Billy asked him.

Tommy expelled a breath. "Of course I don't!" he snapped. "How in the hell am I supposed to plan for something like this! I wasn't expecting Zedd of all people to return. I really wasn't."

"How could you be." Billy stated. "But, surely your not just going to go right into his trap. Tommy, that's suicide and you know it!"

"Billy, I don't have a choice. I don't go...Kat dies. I won't fail her." Tommy told his old friend fiercely. "There are no options left for me now. This whole thing has been a long time in coming."

"Going up against Zedd, your going to be defenseless. You know that, don't you?" Billy tried to reason with him.

Tommy looked at his wrists. "I still have these." he looked back in his Jeep and reached for the sword, holding it up for Billy to see. "And this."

Billy eyed the sword, his face showing his respect for the very nice looking weapon. "Nice sword," he said, "where'd it come from?"

Tommy shook his head. "I'm not sure. I found it upstairs in the storage room. It might sound strange...but I felt as if it was drawing me to it."

"It doesn't sound strange Tommy." Billy told him. "After what we've been through, how can it be strange?"

"Right." Tommy said, still eyeing the sword and once again feeling the summoning effect the sword was putting into him. Right now as he held it, he was feeling as if it were trying to pull him elsewhere and he just couldn't shake that feeling. He shook his head. "What about you? I mean, what was that gold armor suit you had?" Tommy said, changing the subject.

Billy accepted the change of subject. "That...that was the Demon Hunter." he said. He held his left wrist up, showing a morpher attached to it. It was rectangular in shape with one side of it a keypad and the other side was for placing the thumb over. "It's a long story." he said.

"Give me the short version." Tommy said. He still had some time before he'd go over to the power station and do his damndest to get Kat out of Zedd's clutches.

Billy sighed, thinking about where to begin his story. "Okay...well, like I told you in the Power Chamber, I stayed on Aquitar because I thought I'd found that special someone." he said, shaking his head. "I was so blind."

"What do you mean?" Tommy asked.

"Well, it didn't take me long to realize that...that I never really loved Cestria. And she never loved me." he paused. "I guess I just wanted to feel as if I belonged to someone and that someone belonged with me. I know it's silly, but..."

"It's not silly." Tommy told him.

Billy nodded. "Ah but, Cestria had an ulterior motive for keeping me on Aquitar that no one knew about." he said. Billy was silent for a moment. "For about eight months, everything was okay. Me and Cestria were doing great, at least I thought we were. Then, after dinner one night, I passed out. I didn't find out until later that she had drugged my drink during dinner."

"She drugged you?" Tommy's surprise was evident.

He nodded. "Yeah, apparantly, she had been working for someone else the entire time that I was on Aquitar. There was this world famous scientist on Aquitar that was dying from old age. Scorkus was his name. Scorkus had devised a way to switch bodies and sustain youth. And through his discovery, he'd be able to obtain immortality. He needed a body strong enough to sustain the change and he'd already tried it twice with an Aquitian body, but their bodies was simply not strong enough." Billy explained. "Then, when my accelerated aging made it necessary for me to use Aquitar's waters, Scorkus saw his chance. He believed a human body would sustain the change and he gave Cestria enough currency to make sure she'd follow his orders."

There was a brief pause of silence as Tommy took the words in, hardly able to believe what he was hearing. "What happened?"

"The drug she used on me was supposed to keep me out for days, but it was made using Aquitian minerals and the effect isn't as strong on a human as it would have been on a human. I woke up after they'd gotten me transported to Scorkus's base. It was...a rough experience, but I managed to get out of there and tell Delphine what had happened. Scorkus and Cestria were arrested soon after." Billy finished explaining, his memories on that night over two years prior.

"I'm sorry, Billy." Tommy told his friend.

"Nothing for you to be sorry for. I'm the one that got manipulated by a girl." Billy said blithely. "Anyways, afterwards, they invited me to stay. You know, help them out in their science department. But...Cestria was my reason for staying in the first place and with her gone, I didn't have no other reason to stay. So, I had made my mind up to come back to Earth and I was packed and ready to be teleported home when Cestro came and said there was a transmission coming from Eltare."

"Eltare?" Tommy said, his eyebrows raising at the name of Zordon's home world.

Billy nodded. "Yeah, I was leaving Aquitar around the time that Zordon had gone back to his home world. Zordon had heard about what happened on Aquitar and he wanted me to come visit him and Alpha before coming back. I didn't see any reason why not, so I went." he paused, "I got a chance to catch up on everything that had happened to you guys and afterwards, I just found myself fascinated with Eltare and I just never left."

"Man, I wish I'd known you were on Eltare." Tommy shook his head. "But what about that Ranger suit you had...you called it Demon Hunter?"

Once again, Billy nodded. "Yeah...for the first few months after going to Eltare, all I did was learn about the history of the planet. But after awhile, Dark Spectre started attacking planets near Eltare and it became obvious he was coming for Eltare, more importantly, Zordon. Zordon didn't want me on Eltare when the attack came, but he knew I wouldn't leave so...I spent the majority of my time with Alpha, designing this." he indicated the morpher. "It took what seemed like forever to finish it. But we finished it just before Eltare was attacked and I used it during the attack."

Billy fell silent and Tommy had to wonder if his friend was going to finish his explanation. "And..." Tommy urged him.

"I was fighting on one side of the capital city and Zordon was being taken on the other. I just couldn't get there in time." Billy said quietly. Ever since then, for the past year, I've spent all my time trying to track down Zordon's whereabouts the best I could. I finally found out he was being shipped to the Dark Fortress. So, here I am." Billy finished.

"In the midsth of a world wide invasion." Tommy said to him.

Billy could do no more but nod. "Let me come with you Tommy. I can help you get Kat back."

Tommy shook his head. "No, if Zedd even has the slightest suspicion that I'm not alone...there isn't a doubt in my mind that he'd hurt her. I can't take that chance...not with so much on the line."

"So your really going into this blind?" Billy said to him.

"And I'm going to save my family." Tommy replied. "And if your really here to help, there's plenty of places in the city that need some help right now. Use those snazzy new powers of yours and help some citizens. I have to go...there's not much time left."

Tommy turned and walked to the driver's side of the Jeep. Getting in the seat, he closed the door and turned the vehicle on. He looked at Billy, who was still standing at the same spot. "If I don't see you again, Billy...thanks for always being there."

And it was then that Billy was beginning to realize one very important thing about Tommy Oliver. As he watched Tommy's red Jeep pull away from where he was standing, that one realization kept echoing in his mind.

Whether he won or lost, Tommy Oliver was not expecting to survive it.

Lord Zedd stood on a cliff overlooking a very high drop. Just beyond the horizon he was gazing at, Velocifighters could be spotted, attacking the city. But Zedd was beyond the city's limits, for many reasons. The prominent one, of course, was so that Astronema didn't know he was here. Once word got back from the battle on Triforia that he'd left with Goldar, Dark Spectre would indeed be furious with him for such insubordination.

And quite frankly, Lord Zedd could care less. He'd been taking orders for far too long and this move he was now making was not only to get revenge on Tommy, but to begin a chain of events that would lead to his return to power. That's what he wanted, more than anything else.

Power. It's the one thing Zedd has always sought. Even when he was recognized as one of the most ruthless monarchs in the universe, he still sought more power. But never in his existence has he been known as the grand monarch of all evil and if he had his way, he soon would. Within Zedd's maniacal mind was the workings of a plan that had only just began to take shape. It was why he was here on Earth and making the decisions he was making.

And he was about to make another one. He turned, his staff in his left hand as Goldar came walking up. "Well?" Zedd questioned his loyal warrior.

"Everything is prepared." Goldar told his master.

"Excellent. Soon, before this night is over, Tommy will be dead and my plans for the universe will begin to unfold." Zedd said. He looked at Goldar again. "I have something I want you to take care of."

"Whatever it is, my lord, I will take care of it." Goldar promised.

"Even if it means going against Dark Spectre himself?" Lord Zedd inquired seriously.

Goldar stared at Zedd just as seriously, the time for joking over. "My lord, we went against Dark Spectre the moment we left Triforia."

Zedd nodded, accepting the answer. "I want you to take Serpent Terra, find and use every ounce of firepower she has and destroy Dark Spectre. With Dark Spectre gone, Astronema will become new grand monarch and I will be able to crush her." Zedd punctuated his words by clenching his fist.

"Dark Spectre will be destroyed before I return. I swear it." Goldar promised his master before he turned and began walking back the way he'd come.

Zedd turned and looked back out over the cliff he was standing on. Things were happening faster than expected, but so far, according to his plan.


	7. Chapter 7

The Astro Megaship came out of hyper-warp without a sound. One moment, there was nothing there, then with a flash, the Megaship was there, soaring through the stars. The Megship had traveled through space, many galaxies at a time, to end up in this one area, because it was about to enter the battle that was currently taking place for the Earth.

Inside the Megaship, the Space Rangers, all six of them, were gathered on the bridge, looking at the main viewing screen as they approached the blue and green planet known as Earth. And they all visibly shuddered at the appearance of hundreds and hundreds of Velocifighters that were there. Some Velocifighters remained in space for some reason while all the others were down on the planet, attacking every city there was.

But Andros knew. He knew what those other Velocifighters were waiting for. Obviously waiting for them to appear. Just as Astronema believed they would and now, here they were. Just about to enter the battle for Earth. He took a deep breath and placed his hands over the computer consoles in front of him, moving the Megaship ever forward as he eyed the damage that was taking place over the entire Earth.

It seemed that there wasn't an area of Earth that wasn't being attacked by the Velocifighters. "This has got to be the biggest attack they've done, yet." he said to his friends as the Megaship came closer.

The others nodded, not really knowing what else to say to the situation they were very close to entering. Cassie studied the controls under her hands and nodded to herself before she glanced back at the main screen. "The shields are powered up." she said quietly.

She saw Andros nod slightly. She went back to studying her controls. A little ways over from her, Carlos made some changes on his controls before he nodded and looked back at the main screen. "We now have the maximum speed grid online." he told everyone.

Andros kept his gaze locked on the main screen, studying the many Velocifighters. "Ready the Mega Lasers on my command." he instructed.

Ashley, who was slightly behind him, nodded and checked the weapons systems to make sure there wouldn't be a problem. "Mega Lasers are on standby."

The Velocifighters, by this point, had already discovered the Megaship and was busy firing upon the massive ship, trying to destroy it before they could get to Earth to help it's citizens. Andros was silent for a few more seconds as he worked to line the Megaship. Then, he spoke. "Fire!"

With a press of the button, the Mega Lasers let loose a series of powerful blasts that tore through the Velocifighters, completely destroying the ships the lasers went through. Four Velocifighters were destroyed from the early blast. Nothing was left of the ship, or the Quantron that piloted it, but many pieces of debris, floating aimlessly in space.

"Yes!" Ashley said, smiling, "We got a couple of them."

Andros pursed his lips. "A few out of a couple thousand." he said, his tone normal. "We've still got to get down to Earth and help the people. There's no telling what's happening to them now."

Zhane manned the steering controls from T.J. "You guys go where you're needed. I can keep these guys busy from up here."

Andros rose from his command chair and turned, regarding his old friend carefully. "Are you sure?" he asked, remembering Zhane's heavy breathing when he first got on the Megaship.

Zhane nodded. "Yes...the Earth needs you guys. Go."

"Come on guys." Andros told his other friends. "We've got work to do."

Andros, Ashley, Carlos, Cassie, and T.J. all took off down through the corridors of the Megaship, leaving Zhane in the bridge to fight off the hundreds of Velocifighters surrounding him in space. Zhane puts his hands on the controls just as the Galaxy Glider transport system is opened, five streaks of colored light shooting down towards the Earth, and more importantly, straight towards Angel Grove.

For probably the third time in his life, Adam Park was scared. It was the type of scare he almost never got. It wasn't the fear that something was going to happen to him, it wasn't even the fear of death that was now bothering him in more ways than he could admit.

It was the fear of loss. More than that, it was losing someone that he considered himself closer to than almost any other person in this world. Aisha Campbell, the only other person who understood Adam better than most others. And she wasn't doing very well. That much, Adam could tell right away.

He and Tanya had taken Aisha from that small village and gotten back on their Zeo Jet Cycles and headed out. But the sad fact was that the nearest town was a long ways away and each minute that passed by without medical attention was a minute closer to the inevitable conclusion that Adam simply refused to believe.

Aisha was dying and there was nothing he could do to stop it from happening. For the past few minutes, he and Tanya were racing down the dirt road, Aisha held in front of him, trying to get to the nearest town as quick as they could. But Adam could feel the warmth and the wetness of the blood touching his Ranger suit and he could literally feel Aisha's breaths becoming shallower and shallower as she fought to stay awake.

Looking down, Adam saw what he didn't want to admit to seeing before. The blast from the Velocifighter and caused more damage than even Aisha had first believed. It wasn't just some small bullet sized hole that was causing the damage. This hole was almost the size of a baseball and too much blood was pushing out of the gaping wound. Adam shook his head, trying to urge his Cycle to move faster.

From her vantage point, Aisha was able to study Adam. Although his face wasn't showing, she could tell just my the muscle twitches and by the way his body was set that he was trying very hard not to break down and cry. She knew what had caused it. She knew what was happening to her. Ever since that blast hit her, she knew she wouldn't recover from this one.

She felt a smile crossing her lips. All those battles as a Power Ranger...all those times being hit by a blast and always walking away from it, to die in the middle of nowhere here in Africa from the same kind of blast. It made an ironic kind of sense to her, in a way. But as she thought about her life, things she'd done, things she'd wished she'd been able to do, she lost her smile. She looked at the green helmet Adam wore. "A..a..adam?" she spoke very tentatively, summoning the strength.

That green helmet tilted down to meet her eyes almost immediately. "Aisha?" his voice came through.

"S-stop." she said. "Pull over somewhere."

Adam shook his helmeted head. "No...we have to get you to a hospital."

"Please Adam...pull over." she urged him.

Against his better judgment, he did as she asked him. He slowed the Zeo Cycle to a stop and got off of it, carrying Aisha over to the grassy ground and laid her down. He removed his helmet, vaguely noticing Tanya behind him, just now stopping. "We need to get you to the hospital, Aisha." he said again.

She shook her head. "We...we both know it's too...too late for that now."

Adam shook his head, tears beginning to sting his eyes. "No..."

Aisha smiled at him, to ease his pain as best she could. "I...I don't have much longer...we both know that, Adam." she said. Reaching into her pocket with her right hand, she pulled a small butterfly pendant out and handed it to Adam. "Will...will you give this back to Rocky?" she asked. "He knows...he knows what it means."

The tears fell down his cheeks, but he did nothing to stop them. In a shaking hand, he grasped the pendant and held it. He had so much he wanted to say to her, but every time he tried, he couldn't form the words.

Aisha saw his face and tears came to her eyes as well. She reached up with her hand and wiped one of the tears away. "Y...you know I love you, right?" she said to him.

"Y.." he stopped, a lump in his throat. "...you were always like the sister I never had...of course I know you love me. Because it's as much as I love you."

Tanya was kneeling behind Adam, not knowing what to say at the moment, but feeling that she needed to stay by Adam nonetheless. She put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it, showing her support for her boyfriend. He looked at her over his shoulder, grateful for the support.

"Adam..." Aisha's voice got his attention again, "make sure...make sure that Rocky knows that I love him too and...doesn't...blame this on himself."

Adam nodded, not speaking. He kept his eyes on Aisha, already seeing the breaths even out. Moments passed by and her breathing got even shallower. And there on that deserted field, somewhere in Africa, a former Power Ranger, a good friend, Aisha Campbell, died. Died as a result of the battle for Earth. And at last, Adam let his emotion go and he cried.

He was hardly even aware of his girlfriend embracing him from behind him.

High above the city, the Space Rangers fly in to see the damage done to the city. They are on their Galaxy Gliders, soaring through the sky as they head for the center of the attack on the city. Below, hundreds of Quantrons and Piranatrons are flooding the streets, already beginning to gather frightened men, women, and children together in large groups.

The Velocifighters, however, aren't being as nice. They are continuing to shoot at the largest buildings, destroying them piece by piece. Red Ranger regarded the damage with a sigh, but he turned his attention to his friends gliding through the air with him. "Okay guys...this is the big one." he told them. "But we can handle this, right?"

As if all their voices were one, they said one word in response to their leader's question. "Right!" they said in unison.

The Rangers steer their Galaxy Gliders downward, towards the streets where the people are still running from Quantrons and Piranatrons. The many people saw the Rangers soaring over them and they cheered in reaction. The five Rangers split up, still on their Galaxy Gliders.

Red Ranger was being pursued by a Velocifighter. He ducked under a large overpass bridge, the Velocifighter giving chase and targeting his Glider with ease. Firing, the Quantron inside the Velocifighter watched as it's blast struck the Glider, causing a powerful and fiery explosion to erupt, sending the Red Ranger falling off and down towards the ground below, hard.

He landed on his back, his Spiral Sabre clutched in his hand. Surrounded by Piranatrons and Quantrons, Red Ranger threw his leg out, catching a Quantron and knocking it away. He rose up and thrust his Sabre out across another Quantron's chest. Moving around, he performed the same task to another Quantron, then to a couple of the Piranatrons. As he moved his arm for another strike, however, two Piranatrons advanced on him, stopping his momentum.

Also down from his Galaxy Glider was the Blue Ranger. Cartwheeling his way through the Quantrons and Piranatrons, Blue Ranger threw his leg out, his foot taking down a Quantron while he then turned and swept the leg out from under a Piranatron. A little ways away, Black Ranger was also busy with Quantrons. He used his Lunar Lance and struck a Piranatron down and then he followed his attack by taking down a Quantron with his leg. The Yellow Ranger was also on the ground and she used her knowledge in the martial arts to good skill, kicking a Piranatron to the ground with her foot and using her hands and punching different Quantrons. She twisted around and delivered another strike against a Quantron. Turning her head, she saw something and bolted straight for it.

Two Quantrons were guarding a mass of people. She ran over and grabbed a Quantron, throwing it away from the people, then she knocked the other Quantron down as well. A Quantron, however, came up from behind her and grabbed her. Struggling, she motioned for the people to run.

And run they did. The frightened and scared citizens of Angel Grove ran as if their very lives were depended on it. And in all eventuallity, it did. They ran past the location under the bridge that they'd been gathered under and ran anywhere that would keep them from the clutches of the Quantrons and Piranatrons.

"Keep going!" Yellow Ranger urged them, glad they were moving. "Quickly!"

Pink Ranger got in front of the citizens and led them away from where most of the Quantrons were. Using her arms, she motioned for them. "Let's go! Hurry, let's go!" she told them. They followed without question.

Stopping, Pink Ranger gazed up at the sky to see more Velocifighters soaring over the city. She kept her gaze locked on the sky for a moment longer, then turned and moved down the way with the scared citizens.

And while the Rangers were battling Quantrons and Piranatrons on the ground and getting people to safety, the Velocifighters continued their attack against the skyscrapers in the city, unleashing more firepower to bring event the biggest buildings down.

Red Ranger was busy back in the heat of the battlefield. With his Spiral Sabre in hand, he was knocking Piranatrons down and knocking Quantrons down as well, expelling more and more energy as he did so. He thrust his Sabre down, hitting a Piranatron's legs and taking the monster down. Looking to his left, he stepped up and thrust his left leg out, sending another Piranatron flying backward and crashing into smashed debris.

Several feet away from where Red Ranger was battling, the Black Ranger was also leading scattered citizens out from under what now was a severely damaged bridge. "Come on people!" he told them seriously, urging them. "Hurry, let's go!"

Pink Ranger was with him, using her arms to point the way for them to go. "You need to hurry, get to shelter!"

"You'll be safe!" Blue Ranger told them, leading a different group of people to join the others that Black Ranger and Pink Ranger had gathered. "Keep going!"

After effectively disposing of a Quantron and a Piranatron with his Spiral Sabre, the Red Ranger made sure the citizens the two were guarding were alright, then he quickly urged them to move on towards the other groups of scared citizens, all the while he made sure to tell them that they would be alright. Because it's what he had to believe if he was going to lead his Rangers to victory over Dark Spectre and Astronema.

He watched them run off in the direction away from the battle, then he turned back towards the Quantrons and Piranatrons, seeing them continue to get back to their feet. He moved his Sabre to his left hand and moved to pull out his hand blaster. "These guys just don't know when to quit!" he stated. "Spiral Sabre, Booster Mode!"

He assembled the Spiral Sabre, Booster Mode and he took aim at the Piranatrons and Quantrons. Waiting until they were all on their feet, he opened fire with the one command. "Fire!" he said.

A powerful, concentrated blast of energy surged forth from the Spiral Sabre and, within mere moments, the Quantrons and Piranatrons were completely destroyed. Red Ranger hefted his weapon and nodded in satisfaction at the job his weapon had performed. He turned to leave the debris covered parking lot he was standing in, but then, he stopped.

Because standing directly in his path was the treacherous turncoat that Andros had been seeking and hating for all these years. He found himself face to face...with Darkonda.


	8. Chapter 8

The two individuals sat side by side along the grassy fields in the land of Africa. Adam Park and Tanya Sloan both were silent and unmoving. Well, Adam was the one mostly unmoving and definitely the one not speaking. Tanya had her left arm wrapped around his shoulder, rubbing his arm with her fingers gently. It was the only source of comfort she knew to give at this moment.

A few feet away from them, the body of Aisha Campbell was now absent of life. Aisha's soul had left her body moments ago and there was nothing more to be done. The blood had stopped pushing out of the hole in her shoulder. The hole that was more near her heart than anything else and had been the catalyst for her death.

And yet...Adam could not find it to leave this place, leave her body here. Faintly, the two Zeo Rangers could just make out the sounds of the invasion taking place in the other villages in the area around them. Tanya exhaled and looked back at Adam's face. "Hey," she said, "you alright?"

Adam turned his head and looked back at Tanya, his partner in life, his friend, his confidant. "Yeah...I think...I don't know." he struggled to find the words. "I know we can't stay around here. We need to get back to Angel Grove."

"We can stay as long as you need." Tanya told him.

Adam shook his head. "No," he glanced back at Aisha's lifeless face, "if we stay any longer...I'll lose myself in my memories...and that's not something that needs to happen right now." he paused, the tears spilling over his cheeks again. "There will be time for the grief after this is all over. Right now, we have other friends who could suffer this same fate if we don't leave."

Tanya watched as Adam got back to his feet and walked over to his Zeo Cycle. He reached into the bag he'd brought with them when they came to Africa and pulled out a sheet. Just days before the invasion began, that very sheet had been used for a picnic the two of them had enjoyed. But now, she understood the use of that sheet. She got up and started to walk over to him. "Do you...would you rather I do that?" she asked him softly.

He stopped, halfway back to where Aisha lay. He looked at his friend's unmoving body for several seconds. The time etched by with only the crickets and bugs making their normal sounds and the far off sounds of the battles continuing in the small villages. Then, he turned his head back to Tanya. "I...I think...I need to do this." he told her, simply.

She nodded and watched as he neared Aisha and he kneeled down next to her. With gentle hands, Adam draped the large sheet over her body, hesitating as the sheet came to her face, her eyes open, but never would they see again. His jaw shook as he fought his own inner emotions, but at last, he draped the sheet over the eyes. Adam rose again and reached behind him, producing a small device. He placed the device on the sheet, over Aisha's chest. Pressing the button on the device, he stepped back.

An invisible protection shield generated up around her body. It would fulfill two purposes. One, it would protect her body from any effects of the battle, should it get closer and two, it would preserve her so that her body wouldn't rot. That way, they could have a funeral for her.

Adam turned around and walked over to his Zeo Cycle. Grabbing his helmet, he slipped it on, looking over at Tanya. "Let's go." he said, getting on his Cycle and starting it up.

Tanya sighed, but placed her helmet over her head and followed suit. Within moments, the two were pulling away from where a former protector of the Earth died.

The Red Ranger stood stock still, eyeing his most hated rival with his innermost being. His hatred for Darkonda started the day Karone was taken by the treacherous being and each day that passed, his hate grew and grew until it was at the point that it was now at. All he wanted to do was rip through Darkonda's hide and make him suffer and bleed until Darkonda seized to live.

But he wouldn't. He would make sure Darkonda was tortured before he finished him. Make sure Darkonda remembers who killed him when he reached Hell. That's what Andros's biggest desire was. To make Darkonda hurt as much as he was hurt by his sister's abduction. He gripped his Spiral Sabre tighter with his hand and stared at Darkonda.

Darkonda, for his part, was finding Andros's darker feelings very amusing. So much to the point that he had yet to remove his sword. He was just standing there, watching Andros grip the Sabre tighter and hold himself back from attacking. Darkonda raised his hand and looked at Red Ranger. "So," he said, "here we are. You, the famous Red Ranger and I, the infamous Darkonda. Kind of ironic that it all goes down like this, isn't it?"

"There's nothing ironic about this at all, Darkonda." Red Ranger replied, taking deep breaths to calm himself down.

"You want to destroy me, don't you Red Ranger?" Darkonda asked him. "You want to completely run me through with that Sabre of yours."

"You know the answer to that already, Darkonda." Red Ranger said.

"So, why don't you do it already? Huh, what's stopping you, Red Ranger?!"

Red Ranger took one step closer to Darkonda. "For all my life, I've been trying to find out where my sister is. Finally, after years of searching, I finally find her. I...I finally remember who it was that took her to begin with...all that's left for me is to undue what Dark Spectre's done to her...and find out why."

"Why what?" Darkonda queried.

"Darkonda, I want to know why you took my sister to begin with. Did you just do it to make the big bucks on the intergalactic black market? Was there a bigger reason behind it?" Red Ranger asked the questions.

"Are you absolutely sure you want that answered, Red Ranger?" Darkonda shot the question out.

Red Ranger pointed his Sabre at Darkonda. "Tell me!" he screamed.

Darkonda merely chuckled. "Trust me Red Ranger...you may not like the answer." he said.

"What the hell does that mean?" Red Ranger demanded.

"It means..." Darkonda paused deliberately, "...well, alright, I'll tell you this much up front. No, it wasn't just to sell a child on the black market. I was contacted by someone. Someone very powerful with great influence throughout the galaxies. That person told me they'd pay me extravagantly if I did as asked."

"What did this person ask you to do?" Red Ranger asked him, his voice reasonably more normal toned now.

Darkonda looked up at the sky for a moment before he returned his gaze to Red Ranger. "Simply, I was to travel to KO-35 and take a child. Then, I would be paid by an associate of this...person's at a different location to be told to me. Only, after I took the child...it seems I made a mistake."

"What?" Red Ranger felt a terrible feeling go through him.

Darkonda nodded. "Indeed, when word spread of the abduction, I was contacted a second time by this person. The stranger told me, well told isn't the right word. They yelled at me...telling me what a mistake I made."

"What are you talking about?" Red Ranger asked, now getting confused.

"Well, you really are dumber than a nail, aren't you Red Ranger." Darkonda laughed. "I was never expected to grab your sister. I was supposed to grab you!"

Beneath the visor on his helmet, Andros's eyes widened and a clear look of absolute shock clearly showed on his face. He stood stock still, his arm wavering with the Spiral Sabre held within it. That was all the hesitation Darkonda needed. With a laugh of delight, Darkonda pulled his sword out, it's length enlarging magically as he raced at Red Ranger.

The Red Ranger shook his shock off and prepared for the fight at hand. He met Darkonda in the center of the wrecked parking lot, striking Darkonda's sword with his Spiral Sabre. There would be time later to deal with this shocking revelation.

Far from Earth, on another world, there was proof that Earth was not the only city being attacked by the forces of Dark Spectre. In fact, it was the world that was once thriving with life, but now is nothing more than a deserted planet. However, it was currently the location of a major battle. This battle featured one of the more secretive Power Rangers in all existence.

The Phantom Ranger. For the past few years, the Phantom Ranger had emerged, but only when other Rangers were in need. He was there when T.J., Cassie, Carlos, Ashley, and Justin were in need of new Zords in their continued battles against Divatox. His appearance on Earth was for one purpose: to judge them and decide if they were truly worthy of using the massive Rescue Zords that the Phantom Ranger himself had helped to design.

And through their courage and determination to protect their home world, Phantom Ranger had supplied them with the means to beat Divatox. Then, his search for the captured Zordon began and before long, four of those five Rangers had joined the Red Space Ranger and become the Space Rangers and once again, Phantom Ranger arrived to supply the five of them with the Delta Megazord. And although it was now gone, it was still remembered as one of the more powerful Zords ever constructed.

And it wasn't until recently, when his investigating into Zordon's current whereabouts had led him to the same planet that had led Billy the Demon Hunter, to that everything really had begun to take shape. Together, they had began to piece together everything the two of them had uncovered and they'd figured out that Dark Spectre and Astronema were preparing a major strike against the universe and by the time it was over, Zordon's energy would be Dark Spectre's.

Phantom Ranger had wanted to go to Earth and help the humans fight, but it had been Billy's saying that he should stay out here and help protect as many other worlds as he could. Billy had told him that the humans of Earth had a tendency to persevere through attacks and the Phantom Ranger knew this to be correct. He'd seen it in the Turbo Rangers at the time.

But once the war actually began, that's when Phantom Ranger realized how major this attack was. When it began, there were legions of Piranatrons and Quantrons attacking him and the Blue Senturion, who had been dispatched by the InterGalactic Police Unit to help in the battle. And now, Phantom Ranger was held captive by the legions of Piranatrons and Quantrons.

The Piranatrons dragged him closer to large hill where he could see five figures standing and cheering the massive destruction of this planet on. Phantom Ranger recognized the figures immediately. King Mondo, Queen Machina, Prince Sprocket, Klank, and Orbus. They were all watching the finishing touches of something Phantom Ranger would never forget.

His gaze drifted to the ground where he was. There was a group of Cogs completely destroying the Blue Senturion. The left arm was already completely pulled apart and the Cogs were taking their turns smashing the other parts of the damaged Blue Senturion. His vocal circuits had long ago been disrupted, so the intelligent machine could make no sounds.

Phantom Ranger shook his head, already knowing there was no saving this particular Blue Senturion unit. He had to hold on to the hope that he could save himself and perhaps save others. "Your nothing but animals!" Phantom Ranger snarled.

King Mondo turned towards the voice. "I beg your pardon?" he said. "We are glorious machines! I resent that statement!"

"He has absolutely no ethics, my dear. None at all." Queen Machina said, fanning herself.

"Perhaps not, Machina. That is why I believe it's time to teach this particular Ranger a lesson or two. Cogs, you may leave that ruined hunk of junk as it is. Tear apart the Phantom Ranger!"

Phantom Ranger felt his arms released and he moved quickly, rolling to the ground and moving to his feet. He dodged an overhead shot and delivered a lethal kick to a Cog that took it's head off. He turned around dove into the air, unleashing a double kick that took down two additional Cogs. Once he landed on the ground, he went to work on more of the attacking Cogs.

After a while, just when it seemed Phantom Ranger was having an advantage over his enemies, King Mondo sent a blast from his scepter straight at Phantom Ranger, knocking him down. "Pick him up!" King Mondo ordered.

Breathing heavily from the blast, Phantom Ranger could do nothing more as the Cogs grabbed him by his arms and pulled him over. His vision was getting blurry and he knew he had spent more energy than he originally thought. As he was very near passing out, he suddenly heard new sounds. First, it was orders coming from Mondo and Machina, then several blasts were heard.

He felt his arms released and he landed on the ground, face first. Through his blurred vision, he could make out several dark forms attacking the Cogs, Quantrons, and Piranatrons. Phantom Ranger shook his head, trying to get his vision to focus. He made out what he thought was an arm of one of the dark forms and he could have sworn he'd seen feathers. But, in his mind, he asked...how? Who?

That's when he heard a voice. "Hey daaadd? What do you wannus to do with this guy?" the voice said.

Phantom Ranger knew that voice. He'd heard it often enough. "Bring him along...we might need his help with what we're going to do." a new voice returned. Through his exhausted senses, he could've sworn he heard that second voice before and worse yet, he could have sworn he'd recognized it. He whispered the two words that he associated with that voice. The only thing he could say before consciousness fled the Phantom Ranger. "Master...Vile..."

Darkonda's orange colored body crashed through a cement wall that was connected to a building as he was just on the receiving end of a crescent kick by the Red Ranger. He landed on his back with a loud and powerful crash. Red Ranger stalked forward, every nerve in his body bristling with anger towards the maniacal being.

Red Ranger waited until Darkonda was on one knee and partially upright before he swung his Spiral Sabre in an downward arc, crashing it against the traitor's chest. The force of the attack sent Darkonda reeling back to the ground, this time his body scraping against the ground as he went sliding several feet away. But no way was the Red Ranger through with Darkonda.

He advanced with intent purpose. Darkonda moved around until he was on his feet again, just in time as Red Ranger was almost upon him. However, unlike the previous two attacks, Darkonda was prepared. Just as Red Ranger neared him, Darkonda reared back with his left hand and unleashed a powerful blast of energy from his hand that hit Red Ranger right on target.

The blast knocked him back several feet and he crashed through the scattered debris. Smoke sizzled off his suit as he moved to one knee, holding his Spiral Sabre up in front of him in defense. He looked ahead of him and saw Darkonda starting to move towards him. It lasted all of three steps before the area they were fighting at was flooded with Quantrons and Piranatrons interrupting them.

Darkonda stopped and stared at Red Ranger. "We'll finish this...at another time!" he promised.

Not a moment lasted before Darkonda shimmered out of sight, leaving a heavily breathing Red Space Ranger behind to ponder his earlier words and judge their truthfulness. Red Ranger rose, silently surprised the Quantrons and Piranatrons passed him by without a second's glance. Then, his attention was drawn to his right and he saw why. The Yellow Ranger was fighting her way over.

"Andros!" Yellow Ranger rushed over, having dispatched of the remaining Quantrons and Piranatrons.

"I'm alright, Ashley." Red Ranger told his friend. "Just had a run in with Darkonda."

"Come on, we've got to get out of here." she told her boyfriend.

The two Rangers turned and rushed away from the scene of this battle, Andros's mind on Darkonda's words. They rounded many sets of scattered debris, running into more Quantrons and Piranatrons as they did. Using their Ranger powers and their natural abilities, they were able to dispatch of the enemies and continue onward.

As they passed under an overpass bridge, they came face to face with even more Quantrons and Piranatrons, being led by Ecliptor and Darkonda. As the two Rangers slowed to a stop, defensive postures in their stances, Red Ranger's gaze locked with Darkonda's for a split second, before Darkonda looked at Ecliptor. And Red Ranger got the feeling that Darkonda was wishing Ecliptor was somewhere else.

Interesting.

He didn't have time to dwell on it as Ecliptor started to walk forward. "Give up, Rangers!" Ecliptor stated. "You are vastly outnumbered."

"Never!" Yellow Ranger said right back.

"No matter how badly we're outnumbered, we'll never quit!" Red Ranger vowed.

"Then, you will die among your pathetic humans!" Ecliptor promised. He raised his left hand, extended towards the two Rangers.

Darkonda laughed, raising his right hand and extending it towards them. "I like it!"

For the first time in a very long while, Darkonda and Ecliptor worked together and sent powerful surges of power directly at the two Rangers. The double blast knocked both the Red Ranger and the Yellow Ranger backwards, hitting the ground hard. As they fell with Quantrons and Piranatrons surrounding them, waves of energy surged through them as their morphers were overloaded and they were forced to demorph.

And it was no longer the Red Ranger and Yellow Ranger being surrounded. Instead, it was now Andros and Ashley Hammond being surrounded. Andros clutched his chest as the pain of the battle came to the forefront. Likewise with Ashley, she grabbed her shoulder, feeling the effects of the battle.

Ashley had landed on her side, but now she moved, more in a sitting position, leaning back on her hands. She looked around them and spotted a possible escape for them. She turned and clutched Andros's arm. "Come on!" she said hurriedly. "We've got to find the others!"

Both Ashley and Andros got to their feet and took off running. After a moment, Ecliptor watched them, then he roared. "After them, you metal based fools! Get them!"

Seeing Ecliptor running off after the two Rangers, Darkonda snorted. "Wait for me!" He took off after Ecliptor, who was now after the two Rangers with the Quantrons and Piranatrons. But inwardly, Darkonda was seriously looking at any and all possibilities as far as getting rid of Ecliptor. He wanted to put an end to Andros and the personal rivalry that existed between them and he wanted to do it soon. Because, after all, Darkonda had big plans for Astronema and Dark Spectre.


	9. Chapter 9

The backroads, Tommy mused to himself, were a lot better to travel through during a worldwide alien invasion, than the main streets and highways were. While the sounds of battle and the carnage was very visible across the city of Angel Grove, most of the backroads were relatively clear and silent.

Just what Tommy was hoping for.

Tommy's Jeep drove along the mostly deserted back roads of Angel Grove as he expertly navigated his Jeep. He was now on route for the deserted power station just on the outskirts of the city. The very last time he'd been out here was when he and the other Rangers had come across the Blue Senturion for the very first time. That had been a truly surprising experience, one of his early ones as a Turbo Ranger.

As he drove through the many roads that led out of the city without being detected, Tommy let his thoughts control him as he got closer and closer to the power station. For as long as Tommy could remember, there'd always been a piece of him that had been yearning for something more. No matter what he did in his life, he never truly felt completely fulfilled or happy in his life.

Even eight months prior when he learned about his upcoming child or after Katherine accepted his marriage proposal. There was always something in him that was never fulfilled. Happy, yes he'd been happy about both those events. Content, yes he'd even been content. But he didn't feel complete as he thought he would. But, within two hours ago, he felt it.

And it was in holding that sword that lies on the passenger's side next to him that he'd felt that completion that he'd always sought. And realizing that...it made Tommy wonder all the more importantly about where that sword came from. How had it come into his parents' possession? Tommy had felt the power that the sword possessed. He felt the waves of power coming off it. He mused that that was why he'd felt drawn to pick it up out of the box in that storage room.

There was simply no other explanation. Was there? Tommy shook his head and drove on.

About ten minutes later, his well driven deep red colored Jeep was pulling up to the old deserted power station. It was the same now that it had been back then. Though it was still standing, it had last been used many many years ago. Back before Angel Grove had saw fit to have another station built. Spider webs covered much of the building as well as dust, bird droppings, and vines growing up out of the ground.

Tommy opened his car door and started to get out. Then, he paused and reached over to his right, grabbing the black handled sword and holding it as he got out of the Jeep and closed the door. He stood still, just looking around the power station before he started to walk forward slowly, caution in his steps and in his eyes as he surveyed the area.

The power station had several small buildings lined up together and Tommy carefully walked on the pebbled road in between the two lines of buildings. He kept his attention focused on the area around him as his eyes went from one space to another, making sure he wouldn't miss anything.

Tommy continued to walk through the power station area, trying to see if he could catch a glimpse of either Zedd or Goldar, because he was sure Goldar was with Zedd in this. Especially after hearing Chester after he got them out of the burning house. As the former Ranger moved just beyond the lines of buildings, his instinctive training that he'd gained as Ranger suddenly kicked in and warned him just in time.

Tommy dove towards the ground in a rolling fashion just before a powerful blast of energy would have hit him in the back and would have killed him instantly. He landed on one knee, one foot already planted back on the gravel. He looked up at the rooftop of one of the buildings and saw the perpetrator of the blast.

It was him. Lord Zedd. Standing there, his Z staff in his left hand, smoke sizzling off of it as evidence of the blast just sent his way. Tommy breathed a breath in and out, watching Zedd. He slowly rose back to his feet, the sword clutched in his hand. "Hello Zedd." Tommy simply said after a very tense moment.

Zedd eyed his former advesary, making two realizations at the forefront. That blast he'd sent down was meant for one purpose. He'd simply wanted to know if Tommy was still as sharp as he had been in the old days. And Zedd had gotten that answered when Tommy's instincts kicked alive and he moved just before the blast would have charred him alive. The first realization was that the two years since Zedd had last seen Tommy had been good ones for the former Ranger.

Khaki pants with a short sleeved red shirt tucked into them, which had dirt covering much of it and some burnt marks from going through the house earlier. His hair was about the same length, just a little shorter and tied into a single pony tail. But he moved with more self-confidence, something he'd lacked before. The second realization that Zedd made was that the family life he'd been at the start of with Katherine was a major part of the first realization.

This was something Zedd could not allow to completely. Simply because Zedd knew about Tommy's true origins and he would not let Tommy live in the self constructed dream he'd allowed himself to live in. Zedd had revenge in mind and it was time to begin. "Welcome Tommy." Zedd said with a laugh.

The Mega Winger stood between some of the taller skyscrapers in the central area of Angel Grove. These particular skyscrapers happen to be taller than even the Mega Winger itself. Inside the main cockpit of the Mega Winger, the Silver Space Ranger was manning the controls, doing whatever he could to fight the many Velocifighters that were everywhere in the sky.

"Whoa," Silver Ranger grunted, "their fighters are everywhere it seems."

The Mega Winger, judging by it's pose and it's lack of action, looks out of place. As it was designed for one on one combat and not against Velocifighters, it was definitely not prepared for this strike. The distance between the two buildings that the Mega Winger stands between is very limited, not giving the Zord much room for maneuverability. As a Velocifighter passes by the Mega Winger, the Silver Ranger raised the left hand of the Mega Winger and brought it down swiftly.

The Velocifighter was completely destroyed. "Alright, one down! Still got a gazillion to go, though." Silver Ranger said in the cockpit.

Down on the ground, the helpless citizens were still running for cover, but some of them saw the Mega Winger and cheered as it battled the many Velocifighters. The Pink and Black Space Rangers were there, fighting the Quantrons and they paused, seeing the Zord fight.

"The Mega Winger's here!" the Pink Ranger said, pointing.

"Yeah," Black Ranger agreed with her words, "I guess Zhane needed the Zord to help us!"

A few Quantrons and Piranatrons charged at the Rangers and they were forced to stop watching the Mega Winger battle and deal with the matter at hand.

More Velocifighters soared in and began firing at the Mega Winger, the blasts hitting it as targeted and driving the Mega Winger back some feet. "There are just too many of them!" Silver Ranger stated as he struggled with the controls.

There was at least twelve Velocifighters firing on the Mega Winger head on, pushing every ounce of their fire power into the shots. From behind the Mega Winger, several more Velocifighters joined in a group effort to take down the massive Zord. They all began firing on the Mega Winger, causing several small explosions to erupt on the surface area of the Zord. Inside the cockpit, the controls exploded around the Silver Ranger and he was quickly losing control of his Zord.

"I'm going down!" he yelled, shielding his face from the explosions and the heat in the cockpit.

The Mega Winger suddenly began falling down, crushing through a skyscraper building as it did, a massive explosion erupting as it fell, the Silver Space Ranger still inside and those who watched from afar had to wonder...did the Silver Ranger make it out safely?

Back on the ground, sparks flew as the Blue Ranger was sent crashing through a large piece of concrete that was still standing. He landed on the ground, grunting from the pain of the impact. There were different Piranatrons and Quantrons around him.

And at the same time that the Blue Ranger was being decimated, the Black and Pink Rangers were facing similar odds. First, they were standing at the top of a larger structure, then they were somersaulted into the air, a blast hitting them and sending them sprawling to the ground in a painful heap.

As he laid there, holding his chest from the increased pain, blue waves of energy surged throughout his body and the Blue Ranger was demorphed back into T.J.. He rolled over onto his back, looking up at the many Quantrons and Piranatrons that surrounded him. T.J. got to his feet and moved away, retreating from the vastly outnumbered enemies.

The Black and Pink Rangers also were forced into demorph from the overuse of their Ranger powers. First, Carlos lay there, struggling to breath, then he was grabbed by Quantrons. He kicked out, sending one away from him and then he swept the legs of a Piranatron out from under it, knocking it down. Then, Carlos turned and ran over to where Cassie was being grabbed by a Quantron, no longer morphed in her suit.

"We've gotta...retreat!" T.J. said the words, not liking the taste of them in his mouth.

"This isn't good!" Cassie said, grabbing the back of Carlos's shirt.

"There's too many of them! Come on!" Carlos urged, getting to his feet and running after T.J., with Cassie behind him.

They ran for all they were worth, the endless armies of enemies chasing after the three Rangers.

It took them about ten minutes, but at last, they were able to escape the chasing Quantrons and Velocifighters and they found themselves moving around large pieces of shrapnel that was under what appears to be a large overpass suspension bridge. Andros and Ashley were sitting there, Andros's arm wrapped around his girlfriend. Seeing the three of them, they rose to their feet.

"Hey," Ashley said, sweat glistening her skin and making strands of her blonde hair stick to her face, "you guys okay?"

Carlos bent over, his hands on his knees as he struggled to catch his breath. He looked extremely exhausted. "We were getting our butts handed to us by the Quantrons." he said.

T.J. walked over to Andros. "We've never had to face this many before."

"I know." Andros said sadly.

"How are we supposed to win this fight, Andros? We're only five." Cassie asked the leader of their team.

Andros didn't answer. He couldn't. There was really nothing he could say to them. He walked over to a piece of debris setting on the ground, and stared at it for long moments. Then, he reared back and kicked at it, his frustration coming to the forefront. He had no idea what to say, what to do. And as the Rangers stood there, uncertainty clouding over them, the sun was beginning to set on what was one of the worst days in all of the Earth's history.

And it wasn't over yet.

"Where's Katherine?!" Tommy demanded.

Only mere moments had passed by since Tommy had dodged that blast from Zedd's staff. Now, he stood poised on the ground while Zedd was still at the rooftop, not really moving, but merely standing still and watching Tommy. Zedd tilted his head, apparantly regarding Tommy's question. "She's safe...for now." Zedd returned. "But if you continue to speak in that manner, I cannot guarantee she'll remain that way."

Tommy closed his mouth and remained quiet.

"That's better," Zedd said, his tone more normal and calm, "I suppose by now, your wondering why have I gone to all this trouble? What possible motive could I have?"

"Actually," Tommy remarked, "all I've been wondering about is where you've taken Kat. I could care less about you."

Though Tommy had been looking for a reaction to his insult, there wasn't much of one. Zedd stayed quiet for another moment, then he produced a rolled up piece of parchment in his right hand, similar to the one Tommy had found at the Hillard's residence. He tossed it down towards Tommy. The parchment fell down on the ground a few feet from where Tommy was standing. Tommy stayed quiet for a moment, then he reached down to pick it up, forcing his eyes away from Zedd as he grabbed the paper.

He looked back to the rooftop. Zedd was gone. Tommy cursed and looked around, but he didn't see anything. He shook his head, getting frustrated again. He unrolled the parchment and held it in his free hand, reading the contents of the paper.

Tommy, you want your precious Katherine back. Safe and sound. All you have to do is follow my orders. Take this paper with you, get back in your Jeep, and drive back into Angel Grove. To get Katherine back, you are going to have to survive three little tests that I have prepared specifically for you. The first one will take place in the warehouse district. Warehouse 17F to be exact. Drive to that location from here.

If you survive the 1st test, you will then travel back to this same location, this deserted power station, where your second test will be ready for you. Should you succeed in these tests, you will face the third and final test. And that test will decide your fate, as well as Katherine's. If you survive the second test, you will travel back through Angel Grove, to the other side of the city and make your way to the old caverns. The very same caverns that you led your Rangers to victory near.

If you refuse to fight in these tests, I will just kill Katherine and the child she carries. YOUR child. Make up your mind Tommy because at this moment, your no longer the only one fighting for a life here. See you in the very near future, Red Ranger.

Zedd.

Tommy closed his eyes, frustration growing within him. He knew what had to be done now. He had no choice but to go through whatever obstacles that Zedd put in front of him and he would do them. Whatever it took to save Katherine and his unborn child. Even if it meant he wouldn't survive the outcome. It didn't matter to him. All that mattered was protecting what was the most important thing to him.

His family.

"I'll find you Kat." Tommy said, raising his eyes to the darkening sky. "I swear it. I will find you."

With a sigh, he turned around and started running back the way he came and back towards his Jeep.

Gradually, bit by bit, the sense of awareness and wakefulness began to return to the Phantom Ranger. And as he began to awaken from his pain induced slumber, more of his senses began to return to him. He knew right away that he was laying down on a pallet against the wall of something. He felt vibrations on the walls and ground around him and that led him to believe that he was in a ship of some kind.

Beneath his helmet's visor, the person inside the Phantom Ranger suit opened his eyes and looked around the place he was laying. It was on a pallet in a small room and it didn't take long for the memories to kick in. Phantom Ranger knew where he was. Master Vile's Skull Cavern. He was inside the Skull Cavern and he had no idea of where it was headed, just that it was far away from the desert planet that he had been fighting the Machine Empire on.

With that thought, another came to him. Master Vile had led his Tenga Warriors on that planet and battled Mondo's Cogs. He'd saved the Phantom Ranger. But the only thought that persisted on coming into his mind was why. Why would Master Vile attack the Machines for his benefit? It didn't make sense to the Phantom Ranger and the more he thought about it, the less and less sense it made to him.

"Ah," a voice said, "I see our guest has awoken."

Phantom Ranger turned his head and regarded the figure standing in the doorway to the room he was in. "Master Vile."

"That is my name." Master Vile said.

"Why have you captured me?" Phantom Ranger asked. "Surely, there are more important things to be doing now."

Master Vile entered the small room, his ever present scepter in his right hand. "Captured? I haven't captured you. I didn't attack those good for nothing machines to capture you. Mondo and I have...unfinished business. You just happened to be there. In case you failed to notice, I saved your life."

Phantom Ranger stared at him. "You always have a reason for what you do, Master Vile. What motivated you to save my life?"

Master Vile laughed. "You truly are as cynical as ever, Phantom Ranger." he said. "You want some answers, come with me. I'll give you your answers."

The Phantom Ranger took in Master Vile's demeanor, which was far from being hostile or menacing. Plus, he wasn't shackled, which is something that surprised him. He noticed the door to the room he was in wasn't bolted, which meant he could've escaped when he awoken. Phantom Ranger got up and followed Master Vile out of the room, more certain now than he ever was that although Master Vile was still an enemy, he personally was not in any danger from him.

Because that old saying was true. Keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer.

The sun was halfway in it's motion to set and darkness was beginning to set across the city of Angel Grove. The hundreds of Quantrons and Piranatrons seemed to have vanished and frightened citizens were gathered together in groups across the city. This time the day before, things would have been different. The wealthy citizens now sit around fires with the working class citizens and in some places, the homeless.

Lessons were learned in the last twenty four hours. And many of the citizens knew the worst was still coming. And under one of the two major suspension bridges in Angel Grove, there was a small fire ablaze, five faces staring into the crackling flames with a varying state of despair. Earlier in the day, when the battle was really intensifying, these five faces were protected in powerful suits, fighting the fight to the best of their ability.

Andros, Ashley, T.J., Carlos, and Cassie all sat, looking into the flames, remaining quiet as the sounds of Velocifighters soaring above them and scared citizens crying out was heard around them. Each Ranger was filled with despair and a strange sense of hopelessness as they thought over the events of the last twenty four hours.

For Andros, he was feeling a sense of hopelessness so strong, it was almost overwelming to him. For as long as he could remember, he'd always accomplished whatever it was he set his mind to. He'd never allowed himself to fail. It stemmed back to his promise to his father. He'd accomplished half of that particular promise, but he'd promised himself that he would stop Dark Spectre from conquering the universe and now, here he was...failing. Dark Spectre was closer now than he ever was with his ultimate goal and Andros was failing his friends and the universe in general. Andros stared at the ground.

The others kept quiet, knowing Andros had to get through his emotions on his own because otherwise, all of them would be lost in this battle. The fact as they knew it was that Dark Spectre and Astronema made the first move today. It would be up to the Rangers to make the next one. T.J. got up from his spot of sitting on a piece of debris and looked at his friends. "So," he said, breaking the tense quiet, "what happens now?"

The others looked at each other, all lost in their own thoughts. No one answered for several moments. Then...it was Andros who spoke. "I don't know." he said softly.

"There has to be something..." Ashley said, also rising, "something we can do to save Earth."

"Look what's already happened!" Carlos said, rising and looking at Ashley. "We've already lost!"

Cassie turned and glared at her friend. "How can you say that?"

"Because it's true."

Cassie turned around and looked at Andros, incredulously. "You've lost hope." she said.

Andros stared at the fire aimlessly. "I don't want to think like that...believe me, I don't." he said, looking at them. "Throughout this year, we've faced a lot of obstacles and I've always believed that we could overcome them all...but this...this is too much. There's no way we can win this fight."

They were silent, each of the four Rangers staring at Andros. Neither of them could argue the point because they'd felt the odds going against them when they faced off against the hundreds of Quantrons and Piranatrons and they still didn't even know what had happened to Zhane. They'd all seen the Mega Winger go down, but they hadn't seen their friend since then. By remaining quiet, the silence around them etched on and almost became unbearable.

"I can't believe I'm listening to this."

T.J., Cassie, Ashley, and Carlos each looked to a point beyond Andros as he had turned. The voice that had stated those words was not spoken by any of them. Standing next to a large chunk of concrete that had been a part of one of the pillars that held the bridge up was three individuals. Two of them Andros recognized through his studies of the Rangers of Earth's archives that DECA supplied.

"Please tell me the Power Rangers are standing here saying they've already lost hope." Kimberly Hart stated, her hands on her hips and, despite the gash on the right side of her face, looking very pissed off.

"Who's..." Ashley asked, never actually knowing who any of the three individuals were she was looking at.

"This is Kimberly Hart." Andros said, introducing them. "She used to be the Pink Ranger. And that's Rocky DeSantos, former Blue Ranger."

"Yeah and this is my girlfriend Penny." Rocky said, stepping forward, Penny following him with Kimberly.

They were all silent for several seconds, each of them getting used to seeing the new faces. "Now," Kimberly said again, wiping sweat off her forehead, "please tell me you guys haven't given up yet!"

"We just can't see anyway of winning this." T.J. said. "You guys look like you've been through what we have. You know what's happening right now. How are five Power Rangers supposed to save Earth...save the universe...from thousands of Quantrons, Piranatrons, not to mention to Machine Empire, Zedd and Rita, all of Dark Spectre's forces are in this now."

"Look," Rocky answered, "I don't have all the answers to that, but there's one thing I've learned since being a Ranger...no matter how hard it gets, no matter what you face...giving up is the last resort! Guys, you are Earth's only defense. If you give up now, who's going to fight? Huh, have you even asked yourselves that? Have you considered what's going to happen to all these people if you simply give up? Do you think they're just going to get captured?"

"Tortured...probably killed is what will happen to these people." Kimberly continued for Rocky. "And do you really think you five are the only protectors Earth has?"

"What do you mean?" Andros asked.

Rocky snorted. "You forget, there are others on Earth who have been called Power Rangers. Kimberly, me...all across the world, there are former Power Rangers who will be more than willing to band together and fight these invaders. Your not alone in this and you shouldn't just give up either."

"Damn straight." Kimberly piped in, staring at the Rangers, hands on hips.

Penny, Rocky's girlfriend, was limping slightly and she manuevered her way over to a boulder and sat down, not adding to the conversation, but letting her injured right leg rest. Truth was, they'd been attacked with other vehicles when the whole invasion started and they'd had to fight their way through the city on foot. It had been a very exhausting and rough day for the three of them and they knew the next couple of days would tell the story of the fate of Earth.

Penny just hoped she and Rocky would be able to make it through this alright. Because she had a lot of things she wanted Rocky to know and she wanted to do it soon.

The sun completed it's motion over the city of Angel Grove and night had officially begun over a very traumatic day. And in one part of the city, the night was going to prove to be even worse than the day.


	10. Chapter 10

They were now gathered in the main area of the Skull Cavern. Phantom Ranger stood, leaning against the back wall, his eyes on the figures in the rock made area he was in. Master Vile had brought him here from the area he'd been in and then, the others had filed in and the explanations had begun.

And what explanations they were. Phantom Ranger had just been rocked with what Master Vile had told him. So much so that he started shaking his head and placing his hands on his hips. "You've got to be kidding." he said, incredulously.

Master Vile stared back at him. "I kid you not, Phantom Ranger. What you have been told is the truth."

Phantom Ranger studied the assembled group of villains that stood in Master Vile's main throne area aboard his ship. They were faces that, before now, Phantom Ranger would never have affiliated himself with as allies. Now, it seemed, things were different. Very different.

First, there was Master Vile himself. For the longest time, when you thought of the most despised ruler in the universe, his name was up there near the top. Master Vile's capacity for cruelty and slavery was known in the furthest reaches of the universe. Next to Master Vile was his son, Rito Revolto. Although his reputation was mainly as a follower, Rito's ability with a sword was what made him a dangerous foe. While his skills as a warrior was not at the same level as Goldar, Rito was still as lethal an enemy as any.

Near Rito were two individuals that Phantom Ranger had come across many times, always against each other, but he knew they were tough as nails when it came to combat. And they weren't even human or living. They were machines, one of which was technically a member of the ruthless and infamous Machine Empire.

Prince Gasket and Princess Archerina were despised for their treachery and conniving ways. And despite all of their treacherous ways, they were also two machines you always wanted on your side during a major war. These were the only ones currently in the room with Phantom Ranger, but he simply couldn't believe his ears.

"But," Phantom Ranger argued, "your members of his army."

Master Vile laughed heartily. "Phantom Ranger, you need to understand something. Not everyone within the United Alliance of Evil are satisfied with Dark Spectre's leadership."

"You mean..." Phantom Ranger started.

"We are only a few of those who have problems with Dark Spectre." Gasket answered. "One of the big problems myself and Archerina have is the fact that he's already made it perfectly clear that Astronema is to be his heir. A human! As ruler of the UAE...I never thought this day would come."

"You seem surprised that there are traitors within his realm?" Master Vile mentioned.

"I am, though, I suppose I shouldn't be." Phantom Ranger said.

"Well, you superheroes are a lot alike." Archerina sniped.

"Indeed." Master Vile agreed.

"What is it exactly that you all are hoping to accomplish?" Phantom Ranger asked, ignoring the snide remarks the villains were making.

Master Vile stared at him, a look of disbelief coloring his features, though Phantom Ranger couldn't tell. "To remove Dark Spectre as ruler, of course. We've been in secretive meetings with each other for many months now and Gasket and myself were prepared to make our big move when Dark Spectre launched this massive invasion of the universe."

"Dark Spectre's power far surpasses all of you. How were you hoping to combat against him?" Phantom Ranger asked.

"Well, you know that old saying..." Rito started to say. "the bigger they are...uh...wait, I know the rest of this...the bigger they are...the bigger they are...something about falling..."

"Let me save you some time, son." Master Vile remarked. "The bigger they are, the harder they fall."

"That's it!" Rito said.

"Regardless of his size, we would have found a way." Rito's father stated. "But we had to put our plans on hold when this invasion started. Then, of course, something completely unexpected had to happen."

"What?"

Master Vile laughed, the tone and timber of the laugh sounding surprised. "My son in law did. For the first time in...well, since I've known him, old Zedd is finally showing starting to come back."

"I thought you hated Ed." Rito said.

"I do, but I've always held some respect for who Zedd used to be back in the day. I love my daughter to death, but Rita ruined him! Softened him up completely." Master Vile said emphatically. "I'm glad to see Zedd is starting to make his move now."

"What is Zedd planning?" Phantom Ranger asked.

"For now," Gasket said, "he is merely planning revenge against one of those Rangers of Earth that used to cause him trouble. But in time, who knows."

"None of that is of importance to us now." Master Vile said. "What is important is the plan we currently have going."

"Which is what?" Phantom Ranger prepared himself.

Master Vile turned to him. "Dark Spectre has all of his other loyal monarchs attacking the universe. We are going to do what we can to stop them. Not because it's the right thing to do, but merely because we don't want to see Dark Spectre complete his ultimate goal. And if you'll join us...we could use your help."

Phantom Ranger stared back at him, convinced he was hearing things. They wanted HIS help. He shook his head, thinking their offer over.

The night had fallen over the city. Frightened citizens that now had no homes to go to were huddled around bonfires all across the city. Where there was wrecked buildings or bridges, there were bonfires lit nearby, the helpless citizens huddled around them in remarkable numbers.

The Space Rangers, minus Zhane, were huddled around the same fire as before, with Rocky, Kimberly, and Penny sitting with them. They were speaking with each other, the sounds of Velocifighters soaring above them evident.

All five Rangers were sitting on the ground, their backs leaning against scattered pieces of debris that was once part of a bridge or a house or a building. It had been silent for so long since Rocky and Kimberly had tried to talk some sense into the Rangers for feeling hopeless in the middle of this tramautic event. And while most of the Rangers were just looking into the flames or keeping an eye out in case any Piranatrons or Quantrons were to appear, Andros was staring into the flames, lost in thought.

One of the biggest thoughts that passed through his mind constantly was that of shame. He felt incredibly ashamed of himself for his feelings of hopelessness. He was the leader of Earth's only defense, the Power Rangers! He wasn't supposed to have the desire to just sit around and feel sorry for himself. It wasn't helping his team and it certainly wasn't helping the millions of lives, not only on Earth, but all across the universe either.

Andros kept his mind thinking on possible ways to fight back against Astronema's forces. He wouldn't allow himself to feel hopeless again. He knew the others looked to him for the strength to keep fighting and he had to be strong. That was the one thing he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt about. And he also wouldn't allow himself to think about what Darkonda told him. He didn't have the time for such thoughts.

Andros looked at his friends and the three individuals he only knew by association. "We have to find a way to stop them."

"We do," Rocky answered, "but your forgetting that...with as many forces as we're all up against, it's going to be hard to overcome them."

"We have to strike at the top. Destroy Dark Spectre." T.J. said after a moment's silence. "If we destroy him and take down Astronema, the rest of their forces will fall away. It's just like a snake..."

"That's right..." Carlos agreed, standing, "...cut off the head and the body dies."

"You guys are forgetting something." Andros said, crossing his arms.

"What?" Cassie asked, silently agreeing with T.J. and Carlos.

"Astronema's still my sister, regardless of what Dark Spectre and Ecliptor's done to her." he said, simply.

Rocky, Penny, and Kimberly remained silent as they listened to the conversation. They didn't know much about Andros, so they chose to let the Rangers speak amongst themselves. T.J. put his hands on his hips and looked at his friend, the Red Ranger. "Andros, I really don't want to be the one to say this, believe me I don't. But...you have to come to terms with this. Karone is gone...all that's left is Astronema and she has to be stopped."

For long moments, neither Andros nor T.J. moved. What T.J. had just said was the same thing all the Rangers had privately thought, but never spoken aloud simply because they knew how passionate Andros was about finding his sister. No one wanted to say the words, but with everything that's happened and with what could possibly happen within the next few days, there was no choice but to face that possibility that T.J. just spoke aloud.

Then, Andros shook his head. "No," his voice was sad, but serious, "I'm sorry guys...but I can never accept that." he looked at them all, his closest friends in all the world. In all the universe. The next words he spoke was ones he never wanted to have to say, but he needed to say them to make sure they all understood him. "And I have to tell you, if you decide to go after her...I won't be a part of it. And," he took a deep breath and stared at T.J. head on, "if you after her, I will stop you."

They were all silent. Not even Rocky or Kimberly dared to speak in this tense silence. "So," Carlos finally said, "it's going to come down to you versus us. Your willing to risk millions of lives over your sister's."

Andros didn't like the way it was phrased, but it was the truth nonetheless. "Yes."

Simply, no one knew what to say. Andros had made his decision and they all knew it. Before this was over, if they chose to go after Astronema, they would have to face Andros and get through him in order to stop her. He had chosen Karone over millions of innocents.

They were all saved from further words when they heard a rustling from just beyond large pieces of debris. Rocky and Kimberly turned to look and they saw two forms emerge from the darkness. All eight of them went on alert as the two forms, barely distinguishable, came into view.

Then they all relaxed as they realized who they were.

Adam Park and Tanya Sloan emerged, covered by cuts and dirt, sweat matting their faces and looking very exhausted. Adam's gaze fell on Rocky and he stopped, his hand gripping something.

Rocky and Kimberly moved over. "Oh my god! Adam, Tanya! Thank god you guys are alright. I was hoping...but we never saw you!" Rocky said while embracing his two friends. Kimberly, likewise, did the same.

The other Rangers gave their nods to the old retired Zeo Rangers then moved away to give them some privacy. They had enough to deal with at the moment. Penny, meanwhile, stayed on her seat, knowing the bond that the others had as Rangers was strong and that she would get an apology from Rocky for temporarily forgetting she was there. But that was okay to her because it gave her time to think about things.

Adam leaned back against a large boulder and took several deep breaths. This was what he was dreading. Arriving back in Angel Grove and finding his long time friend. He knew what he was about to do and he knew it was going to devastate Rocky, but there was simply no other way to do it. "We uh...we managed to get back in town without being spotted."

Kimberly scrunched her eyed at that. "What do you mean...get back in town? Where were you guys?"

Tanya crossed her arms and looked at Adam for a moment. He was looking at the ground. "When the invasion started, we sort of...we got concerned about some of the others that were all around the world...so we used our Zeo morphers to get there."

"Okay," Rocky said, slightly concerned as to why Adam wasn't meeting his eyes, "where did you go?"

"Africa." Adam said, his voice no more than a whisper. He swallowed and looked up. "We went to Africa because I was worried about Aisha."

Rocky stared at his friend, finally noticing the puffy redness around his eyes, the look of sadness that was in his posture, the slumping of his shoulders, everything. He started to shake his head. "No...no, please tell me your not...telling me..." he stammered.

Adam extended his hand and opened it, palm facing upward. There was a single pendant in the center of his palm. It was the diamond butterfly pendant Aisha'd given him to give back to Rocky. She had told Adam that Rocky would understand what it meant.

Rocky's eyes downcast to the hand and the instant he saw the butterfly pendant, the very pendant he'd given to Aisha the year before they'd all moved to Angel Grove and met the people that would later lead them into being Power Rangers, with drops of blood stained on the pendant. He shook his head savagely, tears stinging his eyes as he grabbed the pendant from Adam's hand. His shoulders were shaking and he was moments, Adam and Tanya could tell, from breaking down. Then, something happened. "NO!" Rocky roared and he grabbed handfuls of Adam's shirt and slammed him against the boulder. "She's not gone! She can't be!" he yelled.

Adam held his hands up to stop Kimberly and Tanya, who were about to grab Rocky. The Space Rangers were also about to move over, but at Adam's signal, they stopped. The only one who kept moving over was Penny. She stayed silent however. "It...it's true Rocky. We got there too late. I...I'm sorry..." Adam said, tears coming to his eyes again. "I'm sorry I couldn't get there sooner."

Rocky let go of his friend and stepped away, clutching the pendant in his hand so tightly that it dug into his hand's skin and drew blood. Without speaking, he turned and walked away. Away from all of them. He needed time alone and he needed it now.

After he was gone, they all were silent. After about a minute's silence, Adam pushed himself off the boulder. "I should go after him."

"No," Penny spoke up for the first time since the two Zeo Rangers arrived, "right now, Rocky needs to deal with this in his own way. Going after him right now will only make it worse."

Adam nodded and slumped against the boulder, more exhausted than he cared to admit. He moved down until he was sitting on the ground and closed his eyes. He was aware of Tanya sitting next to him and holding his hand. He heard Kimberly sit on his other side and he knew that she was silently crying over the loss of not just a former comrade in arms, but of the loss of a dear friend.

A dear friend, indeed.

Night had fallen over Angel Grove for less than an hour and already, Tommy was wishing it was daytime as he pulled his Jeep into the warehouse district of the city. He maneuvered his Jeep down the street in between the two sides of warehouses that existed in the warehouse district with negligent ease. There were dozens of Velocifighters hovering overhead him and he was warily surprised that none of them had bothered to attack him while he drove here.

Then he remembered that they were probably waiting for the next order from Dark Spectre or Astronema. Either way, it really didn't matter to Tommy. All he cared about right now was getting to warehouse 17F and getting through this first test that Zedd had prepared for him and then getting through the other two so that he could get Katherine back. She was all that mattered to him right now.

The headlights of his Jeep shined over the front of a warehouse and he saw that it was warehouse 17D. He was two warehouses away from his destination. Tommy continued driving his Jeep down the street, intent on getting to the warehouse.

For the life of him, Tommy couldn't figure out why Zedd was going to all this trouble. It had been what he'd been thinking about all day, since he got the Hillards out of the house. Sure, he knew Zedd possibly blamed him for some things, but Tommy couldn't figure out why Zedd would do all this. It just didn't make sense to him.

Tommy stopped the Jeep in front of warehouse 17F and he released a deep breath. Shaking his head, he looked at the passenger's side of the Jeep. The long blade with the dinosaur handle shined and gleamed back at him and once again, Tommy was struck with an intense feeling that this blade was connected to him somehow. Even stronger than the feeling he'd gotten when he handled Saba for the first time. Tommy couldn't figure it out. He shook his head.

Making a decision he hoped he wouldn't regret, he put the sword underneath the passenger's side seat and stepped out of the Jeep, intent on using his Zeo powers for whatever this first test turned out to be. He shut the door and walked over to the double front doors of the warehouse. Pulling one of the doors open, he stepped inside.

Nothing but darkness hit him at first and the pungent smell of raw fish. Smelling fish was something he hadn't expected and it was a strong smell as well. Tommy felt along the wall and managed to locate the power box. He flipped the switch and the warehouse was lit up with light and Tommy turned back around and looked around. At first, he was beginning to get frustrated because he didn't see anything. He was thinking that Zedd was putting him on a wild goose chase when he saw the table in the center of the mostly empty warehouse. He walked over toward the table.

There was only one thing on the table. A small rectangular looking device. There was a button on the device and a small piece of paper in front of the device. Releasing a frustrated breath, Tommy picked the paper up. There were only three buttons, but it was enough for Tommy to know that this was part of the first test.

Written on the note were these words: PRESS THE BUTTON.

Tommy put the paper down and pressed the button. He moved into a defensive posture when the device made a sound, but there was no danger that came from pressing the button. Instead, a holographic image of Lord Zedd came into view in front of Tommy and he knew that this was a recorded message for him.

"Greetings, Red Ranger. If this message is playing, then it must mean you've arrived for the first test. That's excellent because I have big plans for you Tommy, my boy! And I'm sure you've been asking yourself why I'm going to all this trouble. The simple truth is...I have my reasons and before this is over, you'll know them. But that time has not yet come. Instead, I've prepared this first test for you.

I've been preparing for this little experiment with you for quite a while Tommy. At first, I was going to move forward with it a year ago when you retired from being a Ranger, but then, things got in the way and I had to postpone it. I finally got the chance I needed when Dark Spectre decided to conquer the universe. Because seriously, in the larger span of things, who's going to notice one little servant of Dark Spectre's disappear. Nobody.

When I thought of these three tests, I had a lot of grande ideas of what I could put you through, but what it came down to was...I wanted to take three of the most significent experiences in your life as a Power Ranger as the basis for the tests and this is the first. Enjoy your first battle and I can't wait to see if you survive."

The holographic image filtered out and then there was nothing but silence. Tommy's brows furrowed as he waited for the inevitable, but then, nothing happened. The silence continued. "What..." Tommy started to say, but was then suddenly interrupted.

Something that felt like a long chain wrapped around his throat and pulled back with a savage force. Tommy's entire body flew backwards and he crashed to the ground, his back hitting one of the stone pillars that held the warehouse up. Tommy moved to his knees, coughing up blood that came from a cut on his gum from the crash against the pillar. He reached for his throat rubbed the raw skin there.

"Well, well, well..." a voice said from above him.

Tommy's head snapped around and he spotted the originator of the voice with amazing speed. He let out a breath and stared at the being that stood there. Now he knew why the warehouse was reeking of raw fish. "Pirantishead." he said.

"Howdy, howdy, howdy Power Ranger!" Pirantishead said, twirling his chain with a fish at the end of it. "I got this mission see...to destroy you! Given to me by the great Lord Zedd! I have no intention of failing him twice! Prepare to die Ranger!"

Tommy got to his feet, prepared to meet this first challenge head on.


End file.
